June 2001

NEW YORK STATE OUT OF COMPLIANCE WITH MEGAN'S LAW
Parents For Megan's Law announced earlier this month that a Suffolk County case invloving the sexual abuse of at least six children by a known convicted sex offender prompted them to seek a U.S. Justice Department decision about New York State's compliance with Megan's Law. The decision makes clear that a failure to comply with Federal standards puts New York at risk of losing 2.8 million dollars of crime fighting funding.

Our request for help from the Federal Government was prompted by a case invloving a thirty-eight-year-old Suffolk County New York resident who was convicted in 1995 of sexual abuse in the third degree against a child - but was not required to register as a sex offender in New York State. Four years later he was indicted on 28 counts of new sex crimes against six boys ranging in age from 8-14. I discovered that New York State had left out two sex crimes, of of which the offender was previously convicted of - sexual abuse in the third degree.

I didn't believe that this omission met federal minimal sex offender registration standards so I asked the U.S. justice Department for a decision so we could go back to lawmakers to confirm our feeling that New York State was out of compliance. Both New York State Senator Kenneth LaValle and New York State Assemblyman Steven Englebright met with us and the family and have introduced legislation to close this loophole.

50 State Survey Nearly Complete

For those of you who have been patiently waiting for the completion of our 50 state survey - we are nearly done. Thanks to volunteer efforts and cooperative criminal justice agencies around the nation, up to date information willsoon be available on all 50 states.

Ensure that every state includes EVERY sex crime against a child as a registerable offense under Megan's Law. PLEA TOOLS give sex offenders a way out!

Contact our Hotline for your state lawmaker's names and number - CALL us 631 689-2672.