By:Scott Brinton
Only Level 3 sex offenders -- those deemed most likely to repeat past offenses -- are put on the online registry. There are also Level 1 and 2 offenders, but they do not appear there. Information about any sex offender can be obtained by calling Criminal Justice Services at (900) 288-3838. A 50-cent charge allows five searches for offenders.
According to CJS, sex offenders are assigned risk levels at the time they're sentenced, if they are given probation, or when they're released from custody, if they're sent to jail or prison.
The state Sex Offender Registration Act of 1996 created a Board of Examiners of Sex Offenders to offer recommendations about risk levels for rapists and sex abusers who get out of prison or jail. The courts may not have up-to-date information about offenders at the time of their release, so they must receive a hearing before an independent body, according to Criminal Justice Services.
Sex offenders who are designated as "sexual predators," "sexually violent offenders" or "predicate sex offenders" must remain on the Sex Offender Registry for life. Anyone who was registered before March 11, 2002, remains on the list for 10 years. After that date, anyone who is designated as a Level 3 offender must stay on the registry for life, but a court can remove a lifetime designation. Not all Level 3 registrants are labeled predators, violent offenders or predicate offenders.
Nassau County's Sex Offender Registry currently profiles 56 people. The state Assembly's Republican caucus says eight live within a half-mile of a school. According to the registry, 10 are South Shore residents. One, a Freeport man, was convicted of first-degree rape, and is required to register for life. There is one other convicted rapist on the list, a Hempstead man who is labeled as a sexually violent offender and a predicate sex offender.
Most others were convicted of abuse, many of children. Among the South Shore residents:
¥A Roosevelt man who now works in Rockville Centre was convicted of first-degree sexual abuse. His victims were three boys, one 10 years old, one 8, and another whose age is unknown. His offense is described as "actual sexual contact, more than once."
¥A Seaford man who now works in Bellmore was convicted of possessing child pornography. He was sentenced to time served in jail and five years' probation.
¥A Rockville Centre man was convicted of abusing a 12-year-old girl. He got 30 days in a local jail and three years' probation.
¥A Lynbrook man was convicted of an out-of-state felony charge after he abused a 15-year-old girl. He was sentenced to 12 months' probation.
¥An Oceanside man was sent to state prison for 18 months to three years after he was convicted of sexually abusing a 27-year-old woman.
¥An Elmont man was sentenced to one year in a local jail after he was convicted of sexually abusing a 6- and a 7-year-old boy.
¥A West Hempstead man was sentenced to two years in a local jail after he was convicted of sexually abusing a 12- and a 13-year-old boy. He was a youth group leader.
¥An Inwood man was senteced to one year in a local jail after he had sex with a person older than 17 who was "incapable of consent."
To find the Sex Offender Registry online, log on to the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services Web site at www.criminaljustice.state.ny.us.
