SEX OFFENDERS ORDERED TO LEAVE (Four men residing in Mastic Beach house are found in violation of law because they live too close to school)

As a violation of Suffolk County's new residency restriction law, four registered Level 3 sex offenders living in the same house in Mastic have been ordered to leave because the house sits within a quarter-mile of an educational site.  The law was drafted by Legislator Jon Cooper (D-Lloyd Harbor) and enacted in June.  It prohibits sex offenders from living within a quarter of a mile from licensed schools, playgrounds, day care centers and other places where children congregate.  Officials of Parents for Megan's Law realized that a community center at the nearby Poospatuck Indian Reservation had a government-funded education program with licensed teachers that could be designated as an educational site.  The four offenders received notice to leave the home within 45 days or face a year in prison.

Laura Ahearn, executive director of Parents for Megan's Law, said residents in other communities could call the group's hotline to check whether offenders in their neighborhoods live within a quarter-mile of a school or playground.

(New York)