Starting New Year's Day, level one sex offenders on the registry for 20 years will be removed

11-25-15 New York:

Starting New Year's Day, level one sex offenders who have been on the New York State Sex Offender Registry for at least 20 years will have their name taken off the list.

We wondered what impact is that going to have on our safety and to the victims of sex crimes.

These are the offenders who are least likely to re-offend and in many cases committed non-violent crimes like public lewdness. They're already on the sex offender registry for 20 years, so the question is -- should they be on for longer?

That's the question we asked to Anna Potter -- associate executive director at the Bivona Child Advocacy Center. The victims they deal with are children.

"So coming off a list means that awareness would go down and awareness is really your best prevention," says Potter.

Brean: "It sounds like you don't think 20 years is enough. Should level one sex offenders be registered for life? Like levels two and three?"

Anna Potter: "I think that, I don't know that I can put a number on it."

"In our world, it's kids and I think we owe it to our community just at large to keep kids safe at all costs," says Potter. "So if it's keeping someone on a list, I guess we're going to say that they should stay on the list."

The state sex offender registry says level one offenders -- who are not designated as a sexual predator -- stay on the sex offender registry for 20 years. Level two and three offenders -- convicted of crimes like rape and sexual assault -- stay on for life.

"I'm perfectly fine with level one sex offenders coming off the registry," says KaeLyn Rich.

Kaelyn Rich is the chapter director of the New York Civil Liberties Union.

KaeLyn Rich: "Level one sex offenses are mostly non-violent offenses."

Brean: "Like what?"

Rich: "For example, soliciting a prostitute or sex worker or public indecency, so something like public urination would fall under a level one sex offense."

Brean: "So you get charged with going to bathroom in public."

Rich: "Sure."

Brean: "You automatically get labeled a level one sex offender?"

Rich: "If you are charged with that and found guilty, yes, you get labeled as a level one sex offender."

Brean: "And you're on the registry for 20 years?"

Rich: "And you're on the registry for 20 years."

In Monroe County, we have 626 level one sex offenders. They make up 44 percent of all registered sex offenders in the county; Ontario County has 93, 34 percent of all registered sex offenders. ..Source.. by Berkeley Brean