By:Hector Flores
Andrea Brucia, of Wantagh, was accompanied by her son, Joseph Brucia Jr., of Bellmore, who is Carlie's father, and her husband, Joseph Brucia Sr.
Andrea Brucia was speaking last Tuesday before the New York state Assembly Republican Steering Committee, Long Island prosecutors, law enforcement officials and community activists, who convened at the Nesconset Library in Smithtown to discuss newly proposed legislation aimed at strengthening Megan's Law. (For a history of the measure, see related story, "Megan's Law, 10 years later.")
The law currently requires the state Division of Criminal Justice Services to post information about all Level 3 sex offenders, those who are considered most likely to repeat past offenses, on its Web site. (For more information, see related story, "How sex offenders get registered.")
The Brucias, along with the state Senate and Assembly Republican caucus, would like to see all offenders, no matter their risk level (1, the lowest, 2, or 3), posted on the CJS Web site. Assembly Democrats, however, have held up the measure. Cathy Peake, chief of staff for Assemblyman Joseph Lentol (D-Brooklyn), said that information about Level 1 and 2 offenders can now be obtained by telephone.
Subhead: Filling the loopholes
Carlie Brucia's murder has spurred recent discussion in New York about revamping Megan's Law. Before she was killed in February, she was kidnapped near the home of her mother, Susan Schorpen, in Sarasota, Fla.
Carlie's alleged assailant, Joseph P. Smith, 37, had a long rap sheet that included 13 arrests in Florida for attempted kidnapping, battery, assault, drug possession and possession of a concealed weapon.
State Assemblyman David McDonough (R, C-North Merrick) invited the Brucias to take part in last week's forum in Smithtown. He said, "We have been working on strengthening the law for the last three years. The Brucias are my constituents, and we need to bring this [discussion about Megan's Law] out into the open."
McDonough said Megan's Law contains loopholes that need to be closed. "The law was passed in 1996, and only covers people convicted after 1996," he said. "There are 18,000 registered sex offenders in New York state. But only those who are considered ... most dangerous are listed on the Web site. There are an additional 7,900 sex offenders who were convicted prior to Megan's Law, but are not listed" anywhere on the registry.
McDonough spoke of a case in Schenectady, N.Y., in February, in which a 29-year-old mother of seven, Faye Cohn, was allegedly stabbed to death in a jealous rage by her ex-boyfriend, James Ross, 43, who was convicted of first-degree rape in 1977. McDonough said Cohn was warned about Ross's past, but she couldn't find his name on the online Sex Offender Registry.
Joseph Brucia Jr. supports McDonough's calls to step up Megan's Law. "Level 1 offenders and Level 2 offenders eventually become Level 3, and we need to know who and where they are," said Brucia. Referring to his daughter's alleged murderer, he said, "Smith had an arrest for attempted kidnapping, and it was only a matter of time before he succeeded."
subhed: Additional measures
The Assembly Republican Steering Committee hopes to add civil confinement to Megan's Law, which would allow courts to order the worst sex offenders to be secured in mental facilities for a period of time after they are released from prison. While in the facilities, they would receive psychiatric treatment.
McDonough believes treatment could reduce recidivism. "Sex offenders are more likely to be arrested for the same kind of crime," he said. "And what is more frightening is that many sexual predators admit that they can't stop."
The GOP committee is also seeking to increase penalties for felons who fail to register for the Sex Offender Registry, and to extend the statute of limitations for all sex crimes involving children. And the committee would like to prohibit sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of a school, school playground, day-care center or any educational facility where children gather.
Assemblyman Andrew Raia (R,C-East Northport) said, "It's imperative that we take all the steps necessary to keep dangerous sex offenders from preying on potential victims. Preventing convicted criminals from living near places where children play and gather is just plain common sense, and another significant step we can take to keep kids safe."
subhead: An ongoing debate
Not everyone, however, is convinced that tougher laws will deter future sexual assaults on children.
Barbara Bernstein, executive director of the Nassau chapter of the Civil Liberties Union, said sex offenders who are returned to society need stable housing and work to become productive members of society. The Sex Offender Registry, however, brands them and subjects them to public scrutiny, preventing them from overcoming past offenses.
"Years ago," Bernstein said, "we had a call from a man who lost his housing because his probation officer told the landlord that he was an offender. If society is interested in the rehabilitation of sex offenders, some thought should be given to how they can find housing and jobs so they can become useful to society again."
Regarding civil confinement, Bernstein said it's an excuse to keep felons who have served their sentences locked up. "Counseling, psychiatry and evaluation should be provided in prison," she said. "Why should these services be offered after an offender is released?"
On the other hand, Joy Watson, bureau chief of the Sex Offense and Domestic Violence Bureau of the Nassau County District Attorney's Office, said strengthening Megan's Law in any way would help prevent future assaults on children. "Anything that can be done to minimize the number of people who might molest children is an advantage that parents need to have," Watson said. "No one is suggesting that kids be placed in a bubble, but adults are in a better position to protect themselves [with a stronger Megan's Law], and children need added protection."
Watson said that if landlords or neighbors harass past sex offenders, they should face some sanctions, but the balance should tip in favor of protecting children.
Bernstein said that strengthening Megan's Law offers parents only false hope. "This is just a false sense of security," she said, "because people think that the threats come from the people named on the Internet, but the fact is that 90 percent of most sex offenses occur within the family."
Bernstein said that counseling and close supervision that doesn't expose past offenders to public contempt are the best ways to go. "I am a grandmother, and I want my grandchildren to be protected from being victims of any crime," she said. "But I also want to make sure that it is done in the right way."
