May 2000 - COMMUNITY LEVEL IMPLEMENTATION PROBLEMS

Soon after we realized success in ensuring that parents' rights to be informed were legally reinstated in New York, serious community level implementation problems began to surface and members of our community came to us for assistance. As a result we have and continue to serve as the focal point in providing assistance to communities in New York, nationwide and internationally about ways to effectively and responsibly manage Megan's Law high risk sex offender notifications on a community level and raise awareness about ways to prevent childhood sexual abuse and about the public's rights for information under Megan's Law.

CALL FOR ACTION-BUILDING OUR MEGAN'S LAW CLEARINGHOUSE
Concerned advocates and community members across New York State and across the nation have contacted us for assistance with the implementation of their Megan's Law. If you would like to be a representative for our Megan's Law Clearinghouse in your state or country please email us at mlrepresentative@parentsformeganslaw.com. You will be asked to gather information about your state's version of Megan's Law and report updates.

ABOUT OUR SEX OFFENDER DATABASE

Parents For Megan's Law's made requests to the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) to be provided direct information from the New York State Subdirectory of High Risk Sex Offenders to put on our site but we were repeatedly denied this information. We were determined to access and disseminate information we knew would provide assistance to parents like us across New York State. A year ago I started hand transcribing the subdirectory at the local police precinct and now over twenty volunteers give Parents For Megan's Law their gift of time. Today, Parents For Megan's Law has grown at exponential rates to include local, national and international membership. Email us at register@parentsformeganslaw.com to get on our confidential email list.

Although we were all very frustrated that we had to spend so much of our time hand transcribing the subdirectory when we felt that DCJS could have given us the information directly, I came to realize that we have learned much more than we could have imagined about sex crimes committed against children in New York State because of this lengthy transcription process. The most startling discovery for all of us was the description of the horrible crimes being committed against our children and the next to no jail time being served for those crimes. How much jail time would you say could bring justice to a 4 year old girl who had her hands and legs tied with a rubber restraint and an offender forcibly touch her vagina? Five years in jail? At least four years? We were shocked to read that this offender received only 6 months of jail time for committing this heinous crime against this child.

A shocking and sobering discovery was that cases such as these are not definitely not unique in New York State. Convicted sex offenders listed in the subdirectory are those who have been determined to pose the highest risk of reoffending and yst 23% of them spent no time in jail. Further, 58% of these offenders spent 6 months or less in jail for committing unspeakable crimes aginst our children. What is the message that this sends to those who victimize our kids and to those kids who are victims? Some might argue that the subdirectory is not providing us the whole picture because many offenders are still in jail serving longer sentences. I wouldn't argue that there are offenders serving long sentences but that does not justify or explain why sex offenders are being sentenced to little or no jail time for committing sexual assaults against children. Instead of bargaining down from 5 years jail to 60 days jail with 5 years probation why isn't the bargaining going from 5 years jail to a minimum of at the least 1 year of jail with 5 years probation?

How about a minimum 1 year sentencing and 5 years probation for any sex crime committed against a child?

Contact your New York State senator and assemblyperson. Our district attorneys are only as effective as our laws permit them to be.