[westsiderag.com – 7/29/20] Despite reassurances from politicians that there are no sex offenders at the three new homeless shelters on the Upper West Side, the city can’t bar all sex offenders from city shelters, according to Isaac McGinn, spokesperson for the Department of Homeless Services (DHS). Only sex offenders deemed “residency restricted” can be banned from shelters that are less than 1,000 feet from schools or child-care facilities, McGinn explained. Gaining that designation depends on factors like the severity of the offense and the offender’s criminal justice status. It appears…
Read MoreTag: New York
NY: Homeless Man Jailed for Failing to Put Address on Sex Offender Registry Dies at Rikers
[thecity.nyc – 7/20/20] On March 4, Hector Rodriguez was sent to Rikers Island because he failed to log his address with state’s sex offender registry — even though he had been homeless for years. Rodriguez died June 21 on his jail bed, while struggling to breathe during a severe asthma attack, according to Correction Department records and a family lawyer. He was 60 years old and had contracted COVID-19 in April, the lawyer said. For criminal justice reform advocates and even one city group that represents victims, Rodriguez’s death behind…
Read MoreNY: NYC Bar Report to Gov. Andrew Cuomo: Call to Temporarily Suspend In-Person Reporting Requirements
[mitchellhamline.edu – 4/3/20] By NYC Bar Committee | April 3, 2020 Dear Governor Cuomo: The New York City Bar Association’s Criminal Justice Operations Committee and the Sex Offender Registration Act Working Group write this letter to urge the temporary suspension of in-person reporting requirements for people on the sex offender registry in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. By continuing to require in-person reporting for the 8,050 New York City residents on the registry, all of whom have in-person reporting requirements at the same office in lower Manhattan, the health…
Read MoreNY: State poised to institute sex-offender ban on mass transit
[politico.com – 4/2/20] New York State is poised to enact a ban on some sex offenders in New York’s mass transit system, a move long sought by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and long dreaded by civil libertarians. The state budget that leaders are now finalizing would allow judges to ban individuals convicted of some sex crimes in mass transit from using the system for up to three years. The MTA has pushed for the ban, arguing that those who commit sex crimes on the subway or bus do so again…
Read MoreNY: New York releases some Level 3 sex offenders, houses them at Holiday Inn Express
[leoaffairs.com – 4/1/20] Sex offenders in western New York have been released as part of the pandemic, with several currently being housed in a Holiday Inn Express. The Level 3 offenders, who were released as part of the outbreak, have drawn the attention of local journalists, citizens and police officials alike, particularly in the town of Greece. “Among the inmates known to be staying at the Holiday Inn Express are four registered sex offenders,” Sabrina Maggiore tweeted. “Three of whom are registered as level 3 sex offender and are deemed…
Read MoreNY: DNA evidence exonerates New York City man for 1985 sex assault
[abcnews.go.com – 1/28/20] After spending a full 25-year sentence in prison for a crime he did not commit, a Bronx, New York, man was exonerated by the first prosecutorial conviction review unit on the East Coast. Rafael Ruiz was convicted in 1985 for sexually assaulting a girl in East Harlem. Ruiz, then 25, was sentenced to 8 1/3 to 25 years in prison and was released on parole in 2009 after serving the entire stint. Now, at the age of 60, Ruiz had his felony conviction wiped off his criminal…
Read MoreNY: Why Keeping People With Sex Offense Convictions Off Social Media Sites Does Little To Make Those Sites Safe
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s proposal purports to take sexual violence seriously, but it aggressively ignores reality in favor of lazy solutions. Full Opinion Piece By Guy Hamilton-Smith, ACSOL Board Member
Read MoreNY: Cuomo plans to ban sex offenders from MTA transit system
[pix11.com – 1/7/20] Repeat and high-risk sex offenders would be banned from the MTA tranist system under a new law proposed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The NYPD announced support for the ban when Cuomo suggested it in March of 2019. The ban would apply to offenders for three years and blocks them from the subway, bus and rail systems. “MTA riders deserve to feel safe, and we have an obligation to ensure they will not be targeted by sex offenders,” Gov. Cuomo said Tuesday. “Enough is enough. If we want…
Read MoreNY: Make Plea Bargains In Felony Sex Abuse Cases More Difficult
[post-journal.com – 12/20/19] New York state doesn’t want to be too harsh on those convicted of crimes. That thought applies to the intransigence of state Democrats to broach the idea of tweaking their much-criticized criminal justice reforms just as it does to a piece of common-sense legislation that has been introduced for the past six years in the state Legislature without ever becoming law. Past history didn’t stop Assemblyman Fred Thiele Jr., R-Sag Harbor, from reintroducing legislation that would make it harder for prosecutors and defense attorneys from making plea…
Read MoreNY: Cuomo: Make Sex Offenders Disclose Dating, Gaming User Names
[nbcnewyork.com – 12/22/19] New York’s governor says convicted sex offenders should be required to disclose their social media screen names to prevent them from using apps to exploit children. Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Sunday that existing laws targeting online predation don’t account for new technology. His proposal, unveiled as part of his State of the State agenda, would require sex offenders to hand over screen names for dating and gaming apps, as well. The Democrat’s proposed legislation would also make it a crime for convicted sex offenders to misrepresent themselves…
Read MoreNY: Town adopts hotel/motel, special events laws
[uticaod.com – 12/11/19] New law sets limit on number of registered sex offenders who can stay at a hotel or motel HERKIMER — The Herkimer town board adopted a pair of local laws Monday — one dealing with hotels and motels and the other with special events. The local law requiring the licensing of hotels and motels in the town of Herkimer was adopted in response to residents’ complaints about the Glen Ridge Motel on state Route 5 and was based on local laws adopted by the town of Brighton,…
Read MoreNY: Pushed Out and Locked In – The Catch-22 for Disabled, Homeless, Sex-Offender Registrants
Across New York, people are incarcerated for weeks, months, and even years after their prison release dates. These individuals are not confined for violating prison disciplinary rules or committing new crimes. New York’s Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) detains them, instead, because they are homeless. DOCCS refuses to release prisoners to community supervision without an approved address. But for prisoners required to register as “sex offenders,” finding housing means navigating a web of restrictions that are levied exclusively on people convicted of sex crimes and that dramatically constrain…
Read MoreNY: Sex offender rules an inconsistent maze
[timesunion.com – 11/9/19] ALBANY — A New York law that is intended to protect children from convicted sex offenders has created a maze of contradictory policies and regulations, leading to inconsistent enforcement and confusing online tracking systems. The disparities have also resulted in sharply different residency requirements for offenders convicted of similar crimes and an increasingly perplexing system that makes it difficult for the public to confirm whether offenders in their area are in compliance, according to a Times Union review of public databases, court records, an internal state memorandum…
Read MoreNY: Church pulls plug on sex offender’s wedding
[poststar.com – 10/22/19] …when word got out on social media in recent days that ______ was planning to get married days after his sentencing, and the invitation that was posted on Facebook talked of the “fairytale” relationship, the you-know-what hit the proverbial fan. The wedding was to be held Saturday at South Granville Congregational Church. Pastor Rick Backus said that he was aware _____ had been accused of child sexual abuse after the wedding was booked, but in light of the fact he hadn’t been convicted the wedding was going…
Read MoreNY: Sex offenders form PAC to try and gain political voice
[timesunion.com – 10/14/19] Voting blocs, where people support candidates on specific issues, have long played an outsized role in New York politics – from labor unions that focus on workplace rules, to environmentalists who place clean air and water at the top of the list. But now an unusual bloc is emerging from an unexpected place: the locked sex offenders unit at one of the state’s major psychiatric hospitals. Convicted sex offenders at Central New York Psychiatric Center are joining a PAC, or political action committee, which could conceivably raise…
Read MoreNY: Legislators OK revised animal-abuse registry
[romesentinel.com – 9/19/19] Oneida County legislators approved a law setting up a public registry of convicted animal abusers but only after tweaking it to make it less worrisome to farmers. The Board of Legislators approved the law by acclimation Wednesday, Sept. 11 at the regular September meeting, shortly after the Ways and Means Committee gave its approval. Its central part is setting up an online registry, to be maintained by the Sheriff’s Office, of people convicted of animal abuse in the county. The measure would establish a website similar to…
Read MoreNY: Second Circuit Backs Home Checks for Sex Offenders
A Long Island sex offender who faced home visits from a private nonprofit contracted by his county did not endure an unconstitutional search, the Second Circuit affirmed Wednesday. Writing for a three-judge panel, U.S. Circuit Judge Christopher Droney noted in the ruling that in this case, public-safety interests outweigh the offenders’ rights. “In sum, the program advances the government’s substantial interest in reducing sex offender recidivism by improving the accuracy of the registry,” the 29-page opinion states. “Thus, the program serves a special need ‘beyond the normal need for law…
Read MoreNY: Revised animal-abuser registry going to lawmakers
[romesentinel.com – 8/20/19] [This is a continuation of the story we reported here] A revised version of a local law on animal abuse in Oneida County would remove the proposed penalty against someone who sells an animal to a convicted abuser, and would specifically exempt farms where an abuser works or shares the business with other people. … Support for the registry approach is not universal among animal advocates. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals does not endorse them, instead favoring stronger penalties for abuse and…
Read More