By Tiffany Razzano
Surrounded by many state, county and village officials, including all five members of Rockville Centre's Board of Trustees, Senator Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre), who sponsored the bill, and District Attorney Kathleen Rice, Pataki signed in the expansion of Megan's Law in front of the Police Headquarters.
This expansion now requires that the names and addresses of Level 2 sex offenders be posted on the Web site of New York's Criminal Justice division. Previously, only Level 3 offenders, those who posed the greatest risk to the community, were listed on the site. The new law also gives the police the right and ability to notify the residents of Level 1 offenders living in their community. This is the sixth time Megan's Law has been expanded since it was first instated in 1996.
"We've fought for years to strengthen Megan's Law in a host of ways -- and in particular, to make the locations of all sex offenders easily searchable on the Internet -- so that New York families would have as much information as possible to keep their loved ones safe," Pataki said. "So I am proud to sign a law that takes us yet another step toward that goal. Until now, you could not find out if a Level 2 sex offender lived in your area unless you had both the offender's name and other specific personal information about that offender, such as a social security number or driver's license number."
Pataki said that the main purpose of the new legislation is to give the communities of New York State the "tools and power to protect their children."
"Knowledge is power," he said. "[This] let's people, parents and the community know there is a convicted sex offender in their midst. The vast majority of sex offenders are on the list for life and do not come off of it. The public needs to know who they are."
Skelos, who said that Long Island is home to 189 Level 3 offenders, 462 Level 2 offenders and 595 Level 1 offenders, stressed the importance of protecting the children. "Sexual predators, those who would abuse our children, sometimes murder them and toss them on the side of the road like a piece of garbage," he said. "They do not deserve the mercy from our public."
Laura Ahearn, the director of Parents for Megan's Law, said that many sex offenders find jobs in positions of trust without the public knowing who they are. She said that recently a Level 1 offender was found working at a nearby Disney Store and another was found coaching Little League in Nassau County.
"Protecting children from sexual predators requires us to continually evaluate what is working and what more needs to be done," she said. "Today, New York has taken a giant step forward for our children's safety by recognizing the need and enacting the legislation to provide parents with information about sex offenders living in our communities."
Assemblyman Bob Barra (R-Lynbrook) was on hand to celebrate the bill's signing. "The governor coming to my district, Rockville Centre, to sign this legislation, marks a great day in the fight against sexual predators in New York State," he said. "Rockville Centre has been on the front lines in the war against sex offenders. The signing of this legislation is a great victory in the fight to protect our most vulnerable - our children."
Rockville Centre Trustees, Jeanne Farnan Mulry and Suzanne Murphy Sullivan, who are both parents, applauded the state's expansion of Megan's Law.
"As the mother of three young children, I am thrilled that Governor Pataki, Senator Skelos and the New York State Legislature strengthened Megan's Law and gave the parents of New York state access to the information we need to keep our children safe," Sullivan said.
