But the former deacon will be allowed to travel for some circumstances.

A judge denied a request Tuesday from a child molester, once a Jacksonville church deacon, to end his probation early.

But the judge will allow him to travel to neighboring counties to care for sick relatives.

Stephen Lee Edmonds, former First Baptist Church deacon and ex-president of the Northeast Florida Builders Association, also will be permitted to travel out of state with permission from his probation officer for family care or business.

Circuit Judge John Merrett also ordered Edmonds to remove distinctive decals such as a Florida Gators logo from his vehicle, a request from the victims, who said they found the vehicle disturbing.

Merrett made his decision after hosting a private meeting in his chambers at which he said Edmonds, 50, apologized to his victims' families.

Edmonds was sentenced to a year in jail followed by five years' probation after pleading guilty in 2003 to molesting three boys. His probation is scheduled to end in March, but Edmonds asked Merrett to terminate it early so that he could care for sick relatives and their properties, mainly in St. Johns County.

His attorney, Richard Kuritz, said Edmonds made the request because his brother recently died and his sister and mother both are gravely ill. Previously, Edmonds' probation didn't allow him to leave Duval County without permission.

Kuritz noted Edmonds will still have to register as a sex offender and report regularly to law enforcement about his whereabouts.

But the victims' families, representatives of the Justice Coalition and a prosecutor reminded Merrett of the crimes Edmonds admitted. Assistant State Attorney Julie Schlax noted that Edmonds agreed to the term of probation and that many criminals' families suffer hardships because of their crimes.

Merrett called Edmonds "depraved," but said his role wasn't to judge the sincerity of Edmonds' apology or his repentance.

The victims' families, who have been critical of Edmonds' sentence and how the case was handled previously, were satisfied with Merrett's decision. They are not being named because the Times-Union doesn't identify sex crime victims without their consent.

"Judge Merrett has given the best decision of any judge that has had this case," said one victim's mother.