7th LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT UPDATE (It’s time to monitor homeless sex offenders)

The Long Island Advance/Suffolk County Legislator Jack Eddington

According to Parents for Megan’s Law, the average sexual offender is 31 years old,white and male. Less
than half (about 42 percent) report having never been married. Roughly the same percentages(35 to 40
percent) are repeat offenders. Furthermore, fully 93 percent of sexual assault victims knowtheir
attacker as either family members or
acquaintances. That means that only seven percent of sexual predators are actual strangers, afact that at
first glance would appear to be good news, but not really. In all, the statistics areunsettling,
especially when you consider that these numbers represent only the predators that have beencaught. It is
our job to protect the most vulnerable members of our families and communities and as chairof Public
Safety, I take that responsibility very seriously. For this reason, I have writtenlegislation to provide
GPS monitoring of homeless registered sex offenders in Suffolk County. Monitoring
homeless sex offenders with a GPS ankle bracelet will help to circumvent the loophole,besides being a
cost-conscious alternative to the trailers.
(New York)