Friday, October 2, 2026
Island Park parents, school board and PTA members learned the facts about the sexual abuse and abduction of children during a presentation by the Parents for Megan’s Law and Crime Victims center. Program manager Susan Haley stressed that most children and parents have an incorrect image of a predator, when, in truth, that person could be a friend, a neighbor, a school coach or even a babysitter.
Showing videos of interviews with actual offenders, Haley explained that most predators set out to establish relationship with their victims. According to the center one in four girls and one in seven boys will be abused before they reach the age of 18. There are over 114,000 attempted non-family abductions a year and over 4,000 actually succeed. Haley explained why predators are successful, and why children often won’t tell a parent what is happening.
The program begins teaching very young children how to be safe, and how to tell if a person is doing something wrong. While the message is the same the presentation changes as the child ages. In addition it is a wake up call for parents who may have may not be aware of threats to their children.
Megan’s law is the result of the efforts of the parents of seven-year-old Megan Kanka of New Jersey. Her parents did not know the neighbor across the street was a twice-convicted sex offender, until he raped and murdered their daughter. As a result there are now federal and state laws that mandate the release of information on the whereabouts of sex offenders. The Sex Offender Registration Act of 1996, is more commonly known as Megan’s law, in New York.
The center gives programs, provides education, and has web site links to maps of current offender locations.
For more information call (631) 689-2672 or go to http://www.parentsformegnslaw.org or http://www.thecrimevictimscenter.org.
