Banished: Miracle Village: The Florida town where everyone is a child sex offender Watch more of Journeyman's latest stories: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlGSlkijht5gyYNkhTOmpP-3AKawhjkdv Subscribe to Journeyman: http://youtube.com/journeymanpictures For downloads and more information visit: http://www.journeyman.tv/?lid=67253&bid;=2 Miracle Village in Florida may look like any other rural American community, with its neat houses and church at its heart; but nearly everyone living here is a convicted child sex offender. "I struggle with the stories of grandpa who played touchy feely with the grandchildren", admits Pastor Patti Auperlee, a Methodist minister in the neighbouring town of Pahokee. "Yes, what they did was wrong - nowhere are we saying that's not wrong. But they were judged already by the court system - they've paid." A refuge for society's undesirables, the township of Miracle Village is a Christian Mission whose aim is to provide a supportive home for paedophiles who have served their time, but have been ostracised by family and friends. In a report that's bound to ignite controversy, we bring you the stories of the residents of this unique settlement. "When I was teaching, I started getting into relationships", confides Chad Stoffel, the director of the mission. "It sounds terrible, but I was almost reliving high school as a 25-year-old." For Chad, the dawning realisation that he was attracted to the same sex sparked a spiral of self-loathing and secrecy. "Was I going out of my way to hurt someone? No. I was trying to figure out who I was, and unfortunately I created a victim." As the neighbouring communities slowly begin to integrate, we are left wondering whether this modern day leper colony deserves compassion or condemnation. SBS Dateline - Ref 6150 Journeyman Pictures is your independent source for the world's most powerful films, exploring the burning issues of today. We represent stories from the world's top producers, with brand new content coming in all the time. On our channel you'll find outstanding and controversial journalism covering any global subject you can imagine wanting to know about.

• published: 09 Jun 2014
• views: 4417