Deep in a ragged industrial center of unincorporated Miami-Dade County, 18 men gathered on a recent evening for court-mandated sex offender counseling.
The ultimate pariahs, these South Florida men are among the state's more than 30,000 designated sex offenders. Increasingly, they face a life of colonization -- forced to live in rural areas or rusted industrial centers where jobs and access to treatment are harder to come by. Many jump from efficiency to efficiency, waiting for the noose to tighten.
''It definitely feels like there is hysteria,'' said ''J.,'' 40, who in 1999 took a plea deal for two years of house arrest and five years of probation for exposing himself to someone underage.
``The first couple years, I felt like it was something I could manage. Now, it's with me every day.''
A disparate lot in deed and status -- a successful executive in pressed khaki pants sat next to an unemployed man wearing tattered, paint-splattered jeans -- all share an unequivocal and intensifying ostracism.
The men, who would speak only anonymously to avoid bringing more attention to themselves and their families, are identified here by first initials or middle names.
'The moment they hear `sex offender,' they think Chester the Molester,'' said Adrian, 34, who was caught with child pornography.
His crime took place as his marriage was falling apart. Adrian began to spend much of his free time in AOL chat rooms.
''I would be chatting just to forget about what was going on at home,'' he said.
WEB PORNOGRAPHY
He started veering into pornographic Web forums -- something he admits he became obsessive about. Soon, he was getting e-mails from other purveyors of porn that contained photo attachments. One day at work, he opened up one that promised ``hot girls.''
A co-worker saw that Adrian had child pornography up on his screen and alerted supervisors. Adrian was fired and thought that was the end of it. But police, who seized his work computer, discovered 90 images of child pornography on his hard drive and arrested him at his parents' home.
In 2002, he took a plea deal for 90 days in jail, 18 months of house arrest and 10 years' probation. The punishment goes much further.
He and his wife, Lisa, have moved three times in the past year. They left Miami Lakes and Coconut Grove and are now living with their 1-year-old in a drug-ridden section of downtown Miami.
''We are renting on a hush-hush still, because I don't think our neighbors know my husband is a sex offender,'' she said. ``Where would we go?''
With ever-increasing restrictions raining down on them, many sex offenders despair that they will never emerge from the shadow of their crimes.
N., 27, says he is a victim of child molestation. He was in elementary school at the time, and was touched by neighbor. He never told anyone. Instead, he says, he just tried to ``block it out.''
Then one summer, when he was 11, two female cousins, 7 and 6, suggested playing the game ``show me yours, I'll show you mine.''
Contact escalated over the years to kissing and groping. When N. was 18, he had sex with one of the cousins, then 13. She thought she was pregnant and told her father.
A PLEA DEAL
The father had his nephew arrested in 1996. The next year, N. took a plea deal that included 15 years' probation and the sex offender label.
Now married and living with his wife and 6-year-old stepdaughter in North Miami Beach, he said the state and county sex offender websites -- which post photos and addresses of offenders -- have caused immeasurable pain for his family.
A neighbor learned of his status in February.
''She insulted my wife, asked her why she was living with a monster,'' N. said. ``The harassment wouldn't stop. She said she would forget she was a good Christian and force us to move out.
``My daughter is afraid to play outside on the swing set.''
Still, N. said his own sexual abuse in no way excuses his crime.
''I have never used that as a crutch,'' said the laborer. ``I've never taken any blame off myself for what I did.''
Indeed, few of the men interviewed say they are the victims.
''We committed a heinous crime,'' said R., 33, a thinly built father who molested his 11-year-old cousin. ``It's tough, I'm concerned, but I got what I deserve.''
D., 45, doesn't seek sympathy. He spent five years in prison for taking two pornographic pictures of his girlfriend's 11-year-old daughter.
''I am a firm believer I got everything I deserved, if enough,'' he said, wearing a large gold crucifix.
Critics of the new laws point out that not all of those designated sex offenders are dangerous or even remotely likely to pose a threat to children.
''Not everybody who gets a DUI is an alcoholic,'' said Jill S. Levenson, a researcher at Lynn University in Boca Raton who studies public policy on sexual violence.
But among the public, the sex offender label holds no such distinction. To be sure, many people don't distinguish between sex offenders and sexual predators, the latter term reserved for sex offenders convicted of the most serious sex crimes, such as gang rape or the rape of a minor.
José, at 21, was kicked out of college during his last semester. He took a plea deal in 2002 after his arrest for performing oral sex on a 15-year-old girl.
''I was in a position of power,'' he concedes. He admits that he was aware of her age.
Still, he marvels at how college guys he knows seem blissfully ignorant of the dangers of hooking up with an underage girl -- including the girls who falsely claim to be 18.
''The message for young guys is, be aware that anything can get you here,'' he said.
ON A LEASH
Now, he must log every mile in his car and can't leave the county without permission. He pays $230 each month for the cost of probation and sex offender treatment. He fears that neighbors will discover his past and rise up against him. He now lives with his family in an exclusive community in unincorporated southwest Miami-Dade.
''Honestly, the pressure they are putting on us is ridiculous,'' he said. ``I have no future in this country. I had huge dreams.''
Should designated sex offenders who are not dangerous or even remotely likely to pose a threat be treated the same as sexual predators or more dangerous offenders?