When Robert Gregg, 54, went into the room of another resident at an Amityville nursing home in October and allegedly pulled the covers away and molested her, the 84 year old woman didn't know that Gregg is a registered sex offender. Four years earlier, he had been convicted elsewhere of attempting to rape a 60 year old woman. Although police said officials at Brunswick Hospital Center's nursing home were told of Gregg's criminal record, they were not required to tell other residents when he was admitted in 2004 after suffering a stroke. Gregg was charged with forcible touching in the Brunswick incident. Suffolk County and New York State have been called to enact greater protections for nursing home residents.
WHAT SUFFOLK BILL WOULD DO
Require all nursing home in the county to:
- Determine whether current employees, job applicants, volunteers and student interns at nursing home are listed on the state's sex offender registry.
- Find out whether current and prospective residents of nursing homes are listed on the state's sex offender registry.
- Notify employees, residents and residents' families of any resident's sex offender status and direct them to the state and Megan's Law sexual offender registries for more information.
- Impose fines of $2,000 per violation for noncompliance.
SEX OFFENDERS LIVING IN AREA NURSING HOMES
At least three nursing homes and skilled-care facilities for the elderly are home to sex offenders, according to state records of Level 3 offenders, considered the most dangerous.
- CHARLES BROWN, 40, sodomy and sexual abuse of a 4 year old boy.
St. Elizabeth Ann's Health Care and Rehabilitation Center, Staten Island.
- ROBERT FOLEY, 83, rape of a 6 year old girl.
Thomas Jefferson Assisted Living Facility, Brooklyn.
- MICHAEL FREY, 43, sexual abuse of a 9 year old boy.
St. Elizabeth Ann's Health Care and Rehabilitation Center, Staten Island.
- WILLIAM SHATTUCK, 65, felony sex with a 10 year old girl.
Oak Hollow Nursing Home, Middle Island.
(New York)