May 2000 - UPDATED A DISTURBING TRUTH May 2000

The subdirectory tells the story of a society with great injustices being committed against its children. You will discover as we did that most of those injustices are punishable by little or no jail time. For example: a 60 year-old male inserted his finger into a 7 year-old female's vagina and was sentenced to 5 years probation; a 51 year-old male sodomized an 8 year-old girl and was sentenced to 3 years probation; a 25 year-old male physically forced an 11 year-old to have sexual intercourse and was sentenced to 6 months of jail; and according to an offense description provided in the state subdirectory, one offender raped a 2 year old and spent only two years in jail; and yet another tied 5 and 9 year-old girls to a bed and raped them and was sentenced to one year in jail.

Our society's prior lack of this knowledge has inadvertently sent a message of tolerance to sex offenders. They can commit sex crimes against children in New York State and spend little or no time in jail. Before my involvement in Megan's Law I too believed that justice was being served and now like you I know the truth. As a society we have unknowingly allowed sex offenders to get away with harming our most vulnerable population. In other countries, raping a child is punishable by life in prison and sometimes the death penalty. In the United States, or more specifically New York State you can walk away with a slap in the hand.

I believe that we have become so desensitized to the words "sexual abuse" that we are forgetting that sexual abuse means what we have read above, that children are really being sexually tormented, really being tied up, really being raped and really being sodomized. Sexual assaults are really being committed against our most vulnerable population, our children. Once a child is sexually assaulted whether the lure was any one of the twenty in our prevention tips, their lives have been forever altered. Healing will occur given the appropriate long term support but ultimately what will never change is that the child was objectified and used as the object of another individual's sickness. Unfortunately, this can not be changed.

You can do something right now to help to prevent childhood sexual abuse by remembering that most childhood sexual abuse occurs with someone a child has an established relationship with whether known or not by the parent. Educate yourself and your children about the lures that sex offenders use to get at children and remember that Megan's Law alone is not going to eliminate sex crimes committed against our children. We believe that reducing the prevalence of childhood sexual abuse can be effectively accomplished with a combination of Megan's Law notifications, stiffer sentencing, up-to-date childhood sexual abuse prevention educational programs and effective sex offender treatment programs. Support our efforts and register with Parents For Megan's Law at <a href="mailto:register@parentsformeganslaw.com">register@parentsformeganslaw.com</a>. Please consider a donation to help us continue to and more effectively reach out to communities.

Please carefully read information we provide about Megan's Law and use the information you find in this sex offender database as the starting point in your search for up-to-date sex offender information. Refer to the commonly asked questions section for information on how to access information via the New York State Subdirectory of High Risk Sex Offenders available in local law enforcement agencies or the New York State Special 900 number.

Please be aware that the Subdirectory of High Risk Sex Offenders lists ONLY those offenders determined to pose a high risk of reoffending (level 3). Further, only approximately 300 high risk offenders (level 3) are listed in the subdirectory when there are in fact over 3,000 registered in the state. There are also registered sex offenders who are determined to pose moderate (level 2) and low risks (level 1) of reoffending. The Subdirectory is a valuable tool and so too is the 900 number because information is available on all offenders whether level 1, 2 or 3. However, when calling the 900 number you must have a name of a person you want to check with an identifier such as an address or date of birth. The 900 number is a valuable tool for camps, child care centers and youth organizations who want to verify employees and volunteers. However, the state currently charge $5.00 per call, this is policy not the law.

Reduce the cost to call the sex offender registry number from $5.00 to 50 cents. The current cost prevents parents and employers from verifying if known offenders are trying to work or volunteer with children so they can victimize them. Five dollars is unreasonable but we are willing to pay 50 cents to cover the cost to the state.

UPDATE:
Parents For Megan's Law announced today the passage of bills both in the New York State Senate and Assembly requiring the states sex offender registry special 900 telephone number cost, previously set in policy at $5.00 be reduced by statute to .50 cents. The bill which was sponsored by Senator Jim Lack and Assemblyman Steven Englebright is expected to be signed into law shortly as Governor George E. Pataki has already taken a proactive measure by reducing the cost to reflect the new proposed laws cost of .50 cents.

In an ongoing effort to reduce barriers to accessing information on known predators, the prime sponsors of the bill, Senator James Lack (R-Hauppauge) and Assemblyman Steven Englebright (D-Setauket) work closely with Parents For Megan's Law to ensure that community level implementation concerns are reflected in the development of a more workable Megan's Law.

#1. Call (518) 455-4561 This is Assemblyman Aubrys Albany Office number or call him at his district office at
(718) 4578-3615.

MAKE SURE THE PERSON WHO ANSWERS THE PHONE WRITES IT DOWN

Tell whoever answers that you are calling to show your support of the Megan's Law bill #A7097a. The one that requires the police to notify the community when the highest risk sex offender moves in. Tell them you want this out of committee and passed in the Assembly --- after all it passed in the Senate last week.

#2. Call (518) 455-3791 This is Assembly Speaker Silver's Office. MAKE SURE THE PERSON WHO ANSWERS THE PHONE WRITES IT DOWN. Tell whoever answers that you are calling to show your support of the Megan's Law bill #A7097a. The one that requires the police to notify the community when the highest risk sex offender moves in. Tell them you want this bill moved out of the Corrections Committee, brought to the floor for a vote and passed in the Assembly --- after all it passed in the Senate last week.

YOU HAVE DONE A LOT ALREADY THE REMAINING IS FOR ONLY THOSE WHO REALLY WANT TO SHOW OUR FORCE!!!

IF YOU ARE FEELING REALLY RAMBUNCTIOUS AND WANT TO GET THEIR ATTENTION PROCEED TO #3 & #4:

#3 Call Assembly Correction Committee Members and Tell Them To Move THE BILL OUT TO VOTE ON AND PASS IT:

Elizabeth Connelly (518) 455-4677
Weisenberg (518) 455-3028
Wright (518) 455-4793
Ortiz (518) 455-3821
Scarborough (518) 455-4451
Diaz (518) 455-5514
Colton (518)455-5828
Nolan (518) 455-4851
Mills (518) 455-5991
Johnson (518) 455-5662
Winner (518) 455-4538

#4. IF YOU RESIDE IN NEW YORK or HAVE FAMILY HERE >>>CALL YOUR OR THEIR LOCAL NY STATE ASSEMBLYMAN/WOMAN. IF YOU DO NOT KNOW WHO THEY ARE CALL THE ASSEMBLY (518) 455-4100 TO GET THEIR NAME. ONCE YOU HA VE THEIR NAME CALL THEM AND TELL THEM THE SAME AS YOU TOLD SPEAKER SILVER.

GOD SPEED and Thank You.

Laura Ahearn