CLERMONT, Fla. — Channel 9 was there Thursday when Tammy Lemaster got a new driver's license after the license office in Clermont mistakenly labeled her as a sexual predator on an earlier license.
When Florida residents get their driver's licenses, the clerks work from a drop-down menu where they label whether the person wears glasses, wants to be an organ donor, etc.
In this case, a clerk helping Lemaster, who recently moved from Virginia to Clermont, chose the wrong label, and she was labeled a sexual predator.
Raw: Woman describes humiliation over error
Lamaster spoke with WFTV after getting her new ID.
"Walking around knowing you have that on your driver's license is traumatic," said said. "We went to go check into a hotel room, and I got turned away for that."
Lemaster's attorney John Phillips said the mistake by a clerk at a central Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicle office caused his client a lot of embarrassment.
"She wanted to be an organ donor, and she came out a sexual predator," said Phillips.
Phillips said his client didn't notice the mistake until a judge pointed it out during a court appearance for a traffic ticket.
"(She) started noticing people were treating her the wrong way," said Phillips. "(A) hotel wouldn't let her stay. (She) went to Disney World, the 'Happiest Place on Earth,' (and) they said, 'We can't let you in the park.'"
Clermont office manager Mark O’Keefe said the mistake was theirs, but that they offered to replace the license on April 21, before Lemaster said she was turned away at Disney for a Florida resident discount, and was denied a room at a local hotel.
"When you're a Florida resident, they require that you show that you're a Florida resident," she said.
Lemaster and her attorney said they want the state to fix the computer drop-down menu that led to the mistake.
"In the computer system, it is a box that's physically checked by an employee," said O'Keefe.
"They're on notice. It's time to change it," said attorney John Phillips. "If nothing else, everybody in the state of Florida needs to look at their license."
Her attorney insisted on keeping the flawed license as evidence in case it turns into a larger legal battle. Phillips said he knows of at least two other cases like Lemaster's.
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