Accused child molester plunges to death trying to escape angry parents

11-9-17 New York

A Queens man was accused of molesting two kids at a children’s birthday party — and then wound up dead on the pavement hours later.

Edgar Collaguazo, 44, plunged to his death from a fourth-floor apartment inside a building on 95th Street in Jackson Heights early Thursday, police said.

He sublets a room in his unit to the 5-year-old birthday boy’s family, and had offered to let the child and a young girl watch a movie in his room while the adults partied, police and the family said.

But when one child’s mom went to check on them around midnight, she found Collaguazo with his hand down the boy’s pants. The girl later claimed the man had kissed her on the mouth.

Some of the adults began hitting Collaguazo. Then they locked the accused perv in his room and called the cops.

Collaguazo tried to flee out a window — and landed directly on a metal fence, before bouncing onto the ground, grisly security footage from the street level shows.

Police arrived moments later. EMS rushed him to the hospital in critical condition, and he later died, officials said.

The boy’s furious mom said Collaguazo and her son were very close, but she wasn’t aware of him touching the child in the past.

“I never imagined he was able to do something like that,” she told The Post. ..Source..

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Connie's Law family supports holding sex offenders

6-2-17 New York:

“Mom’s dead.”

Jonathan Russo still struggles to repeat those words 12 years after telling his younger brother that their mother, Concetta Russo-Carriero, was stabbed to death in a White Plains parking garage.

A homeless convicted rapist stole a knife from the Galleria mall and killed the 56-year-old legal secretary on June 29, 2005.

Sitting in his Mahopac home recently, Russo, now 40, described a family shattered by the murder of its matriarch.

“She was such a strong and important figure in our lives, and it was so unimaginable to just lose her,” he said. “This is 12 years later and we’re still picking up the pieces from it; it’s something you don’t quite get over.”

Russo also spoke about why the family supports New York's civil commitment law, named “Connie’s Law” after his mother, that allows for locking up sex offenders after they finish criminal sentences.

“We wanted positive change and we did not want to see another family go through what we went through,” he said. ..Continued..

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State lawmakers look to prevent sex offenders from being treated at certain psych centers

5-28-17 New York:

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB)- State lawmakers are looking at new restrictions for sex offenders.

The Senate passed a bill this week to prevent sex offenders from living in group homes run by the Office of Mental Health or the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities.

Another Senate bill was passed last week that would prevent sex offenders from getting treatment at certain psychiatric centers.

Both bills are now waiting for approval by the Assembly.

Allison Scanlon and David Chudy with the group, Save Our Children’s Psychiatric Center, told us they welcome any bill that would keep kids safe.

Scanlon’s son received treatment at the WNY Children’s Psychiatric Center in West Seneca for about three and a half years.

“When that door clicks and shuts behind you, you can’t just turn around and open that door and get to your child,” said Scanlon. “You have to trust that those people and that facility are going to take the best care of your child.”

Scanlon told News 4 she had complete trust in the West Seneca facility. Her son was discharged about eight years ago after he was treated for four disabilities, he now has a job and is learning to drive.

Governor Cuomo is moving forward with plans to relocate the children’s facility to the adult Buffalo Psychiatric Center on Forest Ave.

Scanlon is worried the children will be exposed to adults and will lose quality of care.

In response to safety concerns, State Senator Rob Ortt told News 4 he proposed a bill to prevent sex offenders from getting inpatient or outpatient treatment at the same facility or location as a children’s psychiatric facility.

“That needs to be in place,” said Scanlon. ..Continued..

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NY Senate wants to prohibit incarcerated sex offenders from possessing pictures of any minor

5-11-17 New York:

NY Senate wants to prohibit incarcerated sex offenders from possessing pictures of any minor see Senate Bill

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St. Joe’s nurse pleads guilty to sexual misconduct, drug charge

5-5-17 New York:

A former nurse at St. Joseph’s Addiction Treatment and Recovery Centers has admitted to giving drugs and having sexual contact with a patient who was receiving treatment at the Saranac Lake facility.

Jessica Dresser, 31, of Plattsburgh, pleaded guilty this week to one count of sexual misconduct and one count of seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, both of which are misdemeanors, according to a press release from the state Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs.

Dresser will be sentenced next month to 60 days in jail and six years of supervised probation, the press release states. As a condition of her plea, she agreed to surrender her nursing license, and her name will be entered on the state sex offender registry.

The Justice Center says Dresser engaged in sexual conduct with a person receiving in-patient treatment for an opioid addiction in February 2016. On one of those occasions, Dresser gave the victim a controlled substance prior to the sexual contact.

Under the state’s penal law, sexual contact of any kind between an employee and a resident at a facility operated, licensed or certified by the state Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services is a crime. St. Joseph’s is licensed by OASAS.

“The defendant not only violated the law to satisfy her own sexual gratification,” Justice Center Special Prosecutor Gunning said in the release, “but she also subjected the victim to a possible setback in treatment. People responsible for the care and rehabilitation of those who suffer from addiction need to know that disruptions in treatment caused by such misconduct will not be tolerated.”

Dresser is scheduled to be sentenced June 23 in Franklin County Court in Malone.

Gunning thanked the Saranac Lake Police Department and state police for their assistance with the investigation and arrest. Justice Center Supervising Assistant Special Prosecutor Rachel Dunn is prosecuting the case. ..Source.. by Staff

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Bill would require state to notify any municipality where sex offender is transferred

3-28-17 New York:

Sen. Patrick M. Gallivan (R-C-I, Elma) says the Senate has once again approved a bill that would require New York State to notify a local municipality when a sex offender is transferred from a state facility to a community program or residence. The Senate also passed the legislation (S.2132) in 2015 and 2016, but it failed in the Assembly.

The bill sponsored by Gallivan would amend the mental hygiene law to require the Commissioner of the Office of People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) to notify the chief executive officer of any municipality where a sex offender is transferred. The superintendent of schools in which the facility is located would also have to be notified.

"The state has an obligation to notify local leaders whenever the transfer of a potentially dangerous sex offender into a residential or community program occurs,” Gallivan said. “Too often, community leaders learn of the transfer after the fact and don’t have adequate time to properly address public concerns and potential security issues.”

The legislation would require the commissioner of OPWDD to notify local officials no later than 10 calendar days prior to the transfer taking place.

In the past, the state has placed developmentally disabled sex offenders at state-owned group homes in Western New York and across the state, catching many communities off guard and raising concerns about public safety.

The bill has been sent to the Assembly. ..Source.. by Julia Ferrini

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Prison to public housing project to be tested in CNY

3-18-17 New York:

Syracuse one of three cities across New York state participating

For Bill Simmons, the Executive Director of the Syracuse Housing Authority, saying "yes" to Governor Cuomo's newest pilot program was a no-brainer.

"I was the first one to raise my hand because we've always had a history of working with individuals who have criminal backgrounds, in the Housing Authority," said Simmons.

The project mirrors a similar program offered by the New York City Housing Authority.

"It was very, very successful. The program created an opportunity for individuals who were coming out of incarceration to reunite with their families," said Simmons.

In Syracuse, twelve formerly incarcerated people will be screened and referred by the Department of Corrections.

"The referrals are coming directly from the parole system right out of incarceration and then if they're good candidates and a good fit for the program, then they will get these case management services," said Simmons.

The program aims for long-term stability beyond housing...and that's where PEACE, Inc. comes into play. ..Continued.. by Olivia Ugino

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Nonprofit Evicted Me and Posted False Fliers Calling Me a Sex Offender: Vet

2-15-17 New York:

BROWNSVILLE — A nonprofit that purports to help and house homeless veterans illegally evicted a former serviceman, put up bogus posters saying he's a sex offender and then defied a judge's order to stop locking him out of his Brooklyn apartment, court records and lawyers charge.

The nonprofit, MAG-V, which is run by an ex-convict, put up the phony fliers last month on the main door of a Brownsville apartment building, where Ellison McKnight III, a former U.S. Army specialist, had been illegally evicted in November, according to McKnight, his lawyers and court records.

The fliers show McKnight's Arizona driver's license and warn: "Community Alert Level 3 Sex Offender Guard Your Children."

The bogus poster goes on to say "Offender Has Deceived Military & Veterans Community Residence Program." It also falsely claims that McKnight is subject to two pending arrests for property damage and threatening and menacing an autistic child.

McKnight said he saw the posters Jan. 13 when he tried to gain access to his room in the building after obtaining a second order from a Brooklyn Housing Court judge commanding MAG-V and its founder, Michael Erber, to allow him to return to his apartment.

"This is some life and death s--t here," McKnight said, fearing that someone could see the fliers and attack him. "People get killed for this s--t. This is my reality."

DNAinfo New York reported Jan. 5 that Erber — who served 15 years in prison for robbing a check cashing store and currently faces misdemeanor charges for driving a car with a fake license plate — has been accused of illegally evicting several veterans and scammed one of them out of $300,000 in lottery winnings. ..Continued.. by James Fanelli

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NYS Senator Calls On Assembly To Pass Sex Offender Residency Restrictions

Personally I think this decision should be made by a Judge on a case-by-case basis, not Legislators and broadly applied!

9-1-16 New York:

A New York state Senator from the Hudson Valley is calling on the Assembly to pass legislation to keep registered sex offenders from living near children.

Republican state Senator Terrence Murphy stood at Koegel Park in the Westchester County town of Somers Wednesday urging the Assembly to pass a bill that restricts Level 2 and Level 3 sex offenders from residing within 1,500 feet of their victims.

“To me, it’s common sense. And, I think to a lot of us standing here today, this is common sense. But the Assembly continues, year after year, to play politics with our fragile kids. Completely unacceptable,” Murphy says. “Right now, we have a Level 2 sexual offender living within 1,000 feet of this park.”

Murphy spoke about the need for both child safety and victim safety zones. Murphy says child safety zones are places where children congregate, such as schools, churches, synagogues, playgrounds, parks and daycare centers.

“There should be absolutely no Level 2 or Level 3 sexual predator to be allowed to reside anywhere near these kids,” says Murphy.

Murphy’s bill has twice passed the Senate with bipartisan support. Queens Democratic Assemblyman Ed Bruanstein sponsors the bill in the Assembly and several of the bill’s Assembly co-sponsors are Democrats, including a number from the Hudson Valley. Assembly Democratic spokesman Michael Whyland says the Assembly has held roundtables on this issue and will continue to monitor it, adding that assemblymembers want to make sure people are safe. Prior to being elected to the state Senate, Murphy served as a councilman in Yorktown, where Michael Grace is supervisor.

“How is this not the right thing to do?” asks Grace. “As a town supervisor we have, we get notification when somebody moves into a neighborhood and everybody’s up in arms about it.”

State law says that Level 3 sex offenders as well as Level 1 or Level 2 sex offenders whose victim was under the age of 18, cannot enter school grounds or be within 1,000 feet of a school or daycare center. Level 3 sex offenders are considered to be at the highest risk of re-offending. The New York State Court of Appeals in 2015 ruled that state law preempts local law when it comes to residency restrictions for registered sex offenders, which rendered a number of such local laws unenforceable, including in Rockland County. Again, Murphy.

“In 2011, we had a Level 3 sexual offender in Putnam County that was released from prison and allowed to move right next door to its two victims. Earlier this summer, we have heard about the similar incident right here in Peekskill,” Murphy says. “This, as I say, is completely, completely unacceptable.”

Two Westchester County Correction Superior Officers stood at the park alongside Murphy in support of his call. ..Source.. by Allison Dunne

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New York governor wants to ban sex offenders from playing 'Pokemon Go'

There ought to be a law against "Fear Mongering" as well...

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UPDATE: According to authorities in New York State, they passed a new law banning all sex offenders from playing Pokémon Go. Authorities state that because Pokémon Go draws children to specific areas (“Pokestops”), it poses a significant risk since sex offenders can find out where children could potentially be. By preventing sex offenders from logging into a Pokémon Go account, the idea is that they won’t be tempted to enter (potentially remote) areas where children might be playing the game. ...

8-27-16 New York:

"Pokémon Go" has been a hit with the young and the young at heart. But New York's governor is suggesting that heartwarming appeal might be cause for concern. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says sexual predators might exploit the game to take advantage of children and should be legally banned from playing.

The governor asked the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision to restrict sex offenders from using "Pokémon Go" and similar games. The request came after an informal investigation from two New York lawmakers found a high rate of "Pokémon Go" incentives near sex offenders' homes. Those lawmakers not only want to limit offenders from using the game, but they also want to make sure PokéStops don't show up near the homes of sex offenders.

In a release on Monday, the governor said, "Protecting New York’s children is priority number one and, as technology evolves, we must ensure these advances don't become new avenues for dangerous predators to prey on new victims."

The governor's directive prohibits about 3,000 sex offenders on parole from downloading and using the game. Cuomo also sent a letter to the game's publisher asking for its help in preventing sex offenders from playing the game.

But as The Verge points out, limiting who can play video games could raise concerns about already controversial sex offender registries.

One civil rights lawyer told The New York Times these kinds of limitations could conflict with the constitutional protection of freedom of assembly, saying, "Without any evidence of any existing criminal or sexual activity by sex offenders, vis-à-vis Pokémon Go, this is an overreach." ..Source.. by Samantha Crook

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NY Bill Would Require Advance Notice of Sex Offender Relocation

2-2-16 New York:

The New York Senate passed a bill requiring the state to notify government officials and school leaders when sex offenders are transferred from a state facility to a community program or residence in their municipality.

According to the bill, it would require notification to take place no later then 10 calendar days prior to the transfer.

Community leaders should not find out about the transfer of potentially dangerous sex offenders after they have been moved into a neighborhood, which has been the case in my district and elsewhere," Senator Patrick Gallivan (R-C-I, Elma) said. "The state has an obligation to notify local officials about the transfer of sex offenders into a community program so that they have ample time to properly address public concerns and potential security issues. The only way to do that is for the state to share this information with local officials.”

The bill has been sent to the Assembly. ..Source.. by Joe Gullo

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Appeals court: Sullivan sex offender jailed too long

1-20-16 New York:

FALLSBURG — The Sullivan County Correctional Facility imprisoned a convicted sex offender more than eight months longer than it was supposed to, according to an appellate court ruling.

The Appellate Division, Third Judicial Department said in its ruling Thursday that the maximum security prison — overseen by the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision — erred in continuing to hold New York City resident William Green after his release date.

The court also overturned the decision by Sullivan County Court Judge Frank LaBuda that kept him in prison.

DOCCS spokesman Patrick Bailey said the agency is "reviewing the decision."

Green was convicted in 2013 of first-degree attempted sexual abuse, a felony; two counts of second-degree unlawful imprisonment, endangering the welfare of a child and public lewdness, all misdemeanors. He is classified as a level 3 sex offender, the highest risk to commit another sex crime.

Green was sentenced to three years in prison and was scheduled to be released in February. It wasn’t until October that he was released. The court said even though its decision came after Green was released, it was important to rule on his case because this situation was “likely to recur.”

DOCCS explained it continued to hold Green because he had not found “secured suitable housing,” according to the court’s ruling. Green then challenged his imprisonment. In March, LaBuda denied the challenge because he still hadn’t found proper housing.

LaBuda did not immediately return a request for comment.

The appellate court said it understands the “difficulty in finding acceptable housing for sex offenders," but it’s still up to DOCCS to “assist in the process.” It said housing aids in reducing the chances Green, or any sex offender, would commit another crime.

Jill Sanders, Green’s New York City attorney, said Green is back in NYC and is “doing well.” She said she hopes the ruling sends a message.

“Mr. Green served his sentence and he was ready to go back to his community and re-enter successfully,” Sanders said. “(DOCCS) didn’t give him the opportunity to do that.” ..Source.. by Andrew Beam

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Man who spent 22 years in prison for rape he didn't commit faces long legal battle with NYC over $18 million jury award

1-22-16 New York:

They took away his freedom — and now they keep trying to take away his money.

The city is doubling down its efforts to stop Alan Newton, who spent 22 years behind bars for a rape he didn’t commit, from collecting the $18 million verdict a jury awarded him in 2010.

“This is a journey that started in 1984, and it’s still going on because the city refuses to take any responsibility,” Newton told the Daily News on Thursday.

Manhattan Federal Court Judge Shira Scheindlin had set aside the jury verdict in 2011, arguing Newton wasn’t entitled to the money because the city didn’t violate his civil rights.

But the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals reversed Scheindlin’s decision last Feb. 26, reinstating the monumental verdict. The federal appeals court also rejected the city’s request to rehear the appeal.

The city Law Department then tried to fight that ruling in the U.S. Supreme Court, but the high court declined to hear the case earlier this month, according to court documents.

But the city is still refusing to pay up.

The city Law Department claims in new court papers the Second Circuit didn't weigh “whether the amount of the damages was appropriate” and “did not address the question whether the separate verdict on damages was excessive.”

All the appeals court did was decide whether the city was at fault for Newton’s wrongful incarceration, the city lawyers argue — and they now want Scheindlin to reduce the award. ..Continued.. by Victoria Bekiempis, NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

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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

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CURRAN CALLS FOR EXTENSION OF SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY

Another foolish lawmaker that needs to be recalled. His proposal does nothing to protect anyone, and he does so only to foster his position with the public.

11-18-15 New York:

Assemblyman says Level One offenders will be taken off the list

Assemblyman Brian Curran (Lynbrook-21st AD) today called for the extension of the statewide sex offender registry that requires registration for Level One sex offenders who registered in 1996. Curran said these individuals were the first offenders to register with the system and were required to register on the statewide registry for a 10-year period at that time. This was extended in 2006 for an additional 10 years, for a total of 20 years, which ends in January of next year. Curran noted that a new roster of Level One sex offenders entered into the registry today would be required to register for a 20-year period, ending in 2035.

“While the registry itself is not expiring, the requirement for offenders who have been registered since 1996 for the 20-year period is. Therefore, those Level One offenders will be taken off the list next year because the law suggests they have done their time,” said Curran, a father of four. “I am calling on the legislature to enact another 10-year extension (for a total of 30 years) of this requirement; this should have been done before the end of last session. The safety of our communities is imperative for our children and families. As a parent, I would like to know who is moving into my community or who will be my neighbors upon settling in an area. It’s an unfortunate stigma to be classified as a sex offender, but it is better for everyone in the communities in which we live.”

Curran said he is signing on to be a sponsor of Assembly Bill 908, which requires the registration of sex offenders for the duration of their life, regardless of risk classification, as well as Assembly Bill 8503, which requires certain Level One sex offenders to register for life, allowing them to petition for release of the registry after 30 years of registration. ..Source.. by Press Release

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Two Long Island 14-Year-Olds Charged With Felonies for Producing and Sharing a Video Showing One Them Having Sex With a Girl

11-11-15 New York:

Twenty other students were suspended for receiving the video on their cellphones.

In today's column about the recent "sexting scandal" in Cañon City, Colorado, I note that 17 states have changed their child pornography laws so that teenagers who swap nude photos of themselves with each other are not automatically treated as felons. One of those states is New York, which makes an exception for images exchanged between people 20 or younger whose ages are no more than five years apart. In such cases, the "offenders" can avoid criminal charges by undergoing an eight-hour "education reform program" that covers the dangers of sexting and cyberbullying. Despite that provision, two Long Island teenagers were recently charged with felonies for producing and disseminating a 10-second video showing one of them having sex with a girl.

WNYW, the Fox station in New York City, reports that the two boys who were arrested are both 14. It does not give the girl's age, saying only that she was "underage," which could mean she was younger than 18, the legal cutoff for so-called child pornography, or younger than 17, the age of consent in New York. Even a teenager younger than 17 can legally have consensual sex in New York as long as her partner is no more than four years older and she is at least 13. But no one, including the girl herself, can legally record the encounter or let others see the video. ..Continued.. by Jacob Sullum

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Doe Fund Fights Sex Offender Relocation To Its East Williamsburg Shelter

9-11-15 New York:

Management of an East Williamsburg homeless shelter says they would rather close the facility than make room for 50 sex offenders being sent there by New York City’s Department of Homeless Services.

Administrators from The Doe Fund, a nonprofit organization which independently owns and operates the Peter Jay Sharp Center for Opportunity, believe the transfers to be level two and three sex offenders, classified by the state to be moderate to high risks for reoffending, respectively.

“DHS did not identify them as such, but we know that levels two and three are most likely to be homeless and in the system because of the legal restrictions imposed upon them,” says The Doe Fund’s director of external affairs, Alexander Horwitz.

Those legal restrictions include prohibitions outlawing certain sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of an area where children congregate. According to state law, sex offenders under parole or probation supervision, regardless of their risk level, are subject to residency restrictions if their victims were under the age of 18. Level three sex offenders on parole or probation, regardless of the age of their victims, also are subject to residency restrictions.

Due to the density of schools, parks and playgrounds in New York, these restrictions mean that many homeless sex offenders can legally reside at one of only 17 compliant shelters — a list that the Sharp Center, being more than 1,500 feet away from the nearest school (and three blocks from the Morgan L stop) found itself on for the first time in April.

The 400-bed Sharp Center is legally obligated to accept anyone referred to it by DHS if it has vacancies, but management says they are at capacity, and claims that this is the first time in the facility’s 12-year history that the department has attempted to forcibly move in sex offenders. ..Continue.. by Arvind Dilawar

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Protecting Our Children from Sex Offenders

Besides the fact that we see a group opting for useless laws (residency laws have no recognized public safety value they are feel good laws) there is something of value in this article. Thousands of Level 1 offenders will be removed from the public registry; a good thing. This comes from the state legislature. See highlights.

8-4-15 New York:

Parents of Megan's Law, Suffolk County officials and the community join forces to protect our children against sex offenders.

DIX HILLS, N.Y. – On Thursday, July 30th, Suffolk County Legislator Sarah Anker joined Parents for Megan’s Law, elected officials and community residents at the Rolling Hill Elementary School in Dix Hills to advocate for stronger sex offender laws. The event was in response to the New York State Court of Appeals recent decision to remove all county sex offender residency restrictions, which leaves vulnerable populations including sex crime victims and children at risk.

The state law ruling restricts Suffolk County’s more stringent sex offender laws mandating a sex offenders can not reside within a quarter mile of public or private schools, day care centers, playgrounds, or the residence of their victims. With the restriction lifted by the NYS Court of Appeals, a Level 3 Wyoming sex offender was able to move into a home only three doors away from Rolling Hills Elementary School. Similarly, all other registrants are able to live near schools anywhere in the state.

In addition, beginning January 1, 2016, registration for thousands of Level 1 sex offenders will end and their names will be removed from the sex offender registry.

“I stand with Parents for Megan’s Law and our local communities to do what is obviously necessary to keep our children safe,” said Legislator Anker. “Prior to the ruling, Suffolk County, working with Parents for Megan’s Law, had created this country’s strictest sex offender laws that provide intense oversight and enforcement. It is absolutely unacceptable that a sex offender’s residency right has a higher priority than our children’s safety.”

Megan’s Law requires law enforcement authorities to make information available to the public regarding registered sex offenders. Individual states decide what information will be made available and how it should be distributed. Parents for Megan’s Law and the Crime Victims Center is a non-profit organization dedicated to the prevention and treatment of child sexual abuse and rape, the provision of services to victims of violent crime, and elderly, disabled and minor victims of all crime. ..Source.. by Office of Legislator Sarah Anker

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Gregory, Stern Call on State to Allow Counties to Restrict Residency of Sex Offenders

Here we go again, a group of officials who feel they aren't getting enough attention, so they propose laws that there is no proof that accomplish anything. Residency laws provide jobs for folks and do nothing more; why waste taxpayer funds?

8-4-15 New York:

Ask State Assembly To Convene Special Session Before School Starts

(Long Island, NY) Suffolk County Legislature Presiding Officer DuWayne Gregory and 16th District Legislator Steve Stern on Thursday called for the state to allow counties to restrict the residency of sex offenders. The lawmakers were joined by Parents for Megan’s Law and the Crime Victims Center, who hosted a press conference in front of Rolling Hills Primary School in Dix Hills.

In February, the New York State Court of Appeals struck down local laws limiting the residency of sex offenders, finding such regulation was preempted by state law. As a result, Suffolk County’s law, which prohibited all registered sex offenders from residing within a quarter of a mile of any school, licensed daycare center or playground, is no longer valid. State law only places residency requirements on certain classes of sex offenders and also allows sex offenders to live closer to schools.In order for the Suffolk County law to be reinstated, the New York State Assembly must pass legislation that clearly gives municipalities back the power to regulate the residency of sex offenders. The New York State Senate has already passed a bill that does this, but the State Assembly has yet to act, and a special session must be convened in order to usher through the bill before school starts this fall.

“Suffolk County has a responsibility to protect its children from sex offenders, and we have been stripped of that power,” said Presiding Officer Gregory. “I urge the New York State Assembly to clarify legislative intent and give control back to the local governments that are closest to the communities they serve. Let us protect our kids.”

“Our laws must afford communities and victims of sex crimes protections from those we know pose a risk to their safety,” said Laura Ahearn, executive director of Parents for Megan’s Law and the Crime Victims Center. “The Court of Appeals decision stripped counties across New York from protections provided by lawmakers through their implementation of sex offender management initiatives. It is my honor to stand with Legislator Gregory and county and state lawmakers to advocate for counties across the state to have their legislative power restored.”

“Many of us are enjoying our summer vacations,” Legislator Stern said. “Our children are on vacation from school, our state legislature is not in session. But sex offenders don’t take vacation. We cannot have our most vulnerable children at risk when they return to school in September. I call on our state representatives to get to work now to protect our children.”

The event was also attended by 3rd District Legislator Kate Browning, 6th District Legislator Sarah Anker, 9th District Legislator Monica Martinez, and 12th District Legislator Leslie Kennedy. ..Source.. by LongIsldand Exchange

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Touching Someone Inappropriately on Subway or Bus to Come With One Year Jail Sentence for New Yorkers

6-25-15 New York:

Miscellaneous "sexual contact" goes from Class B to Class A misdemeanor when it takes place on train or bus.

Last week, the New York state legislature passed a bill enhancing the penalties for inappropriate touching "on a bus, train, or subway car." Under the new rule, which has not yet been signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, anyone convicted may be fined $1,000 and sentenced to one year in jail or three years of probation.

Currently, "forcible touching"—which includes "squeezing, grabbing or pinching" someone's "sexual or other intimate parts"—is a class A misdemeanor sex offense while "sexual abuse in the third degree," defined as any "sexual contact without [another person's] consent," is a class B misdemeanor. As such, third-degree sexual abuse carries a maximum penalty of three months in jail and a $500 fine.

The new legislation raises miscellaneous "sexual contact"—defined as the "touching of the sexual or other intimate parts of a person not married to the actor for the purpose of gratifying sexual desire of either party [including] the touching of the actor by the victim, as well as the touching of the victim by the actor, whether directly or through clothing"— from a Class B to a Class A misdemeanor when it takes place on (public or private) buses and trains. "New Yorkers use public transit each and every day to get where they need to go," said bill sponsor Aravella Simota (D-Queens), "and no one should be afraid of being inappropriately touched or groped against their will when they get on the bus, train or subway." ..Continued.. by Elizabeth Nolan Brown

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