NY - “Bathroom Cops” Arresting Men in Public Bathrooms After “Shaking Off” When Done Urinating

Original Article

10/09/2014

By John Vibes

A string of recent complaints filed by alleged victims of wrongful arrest are bringing question to NYPD practices of arresting men in public restrooms. There are currently undercover cops posted up in public restrooms across New York City, waiting to catch “sexual predators” in the act.

However, according to dozens of alleged victims, average men are becoming entrapped by these undercover agents, when they have done nothing wrong. Many of the victims have claimed that after urinating, “shaking off” and zipping up their pants, they were accused of “simulating masturbation” in view of the police officer.

The New York Times recently reported that police have been standing in public restrooms and staring down everyone who passes through, while they use the urinals. If the person makes any movements that the officer does not approve of, they can be arrested for “lewdness” with no evidence aside from the testimony of the officer. Since police have been stationed in public bathrooms, lewdness arrests have increased 7-fold. In the past year alone, over 60 people were arrested in one bus terminal restroom, many of them for alleged “lewdness” in the bathroom stall.

Dozens of the people who have been arrested in this trap have sought legal representation from The Legal Aid Society and other independent sources. Many of these people reported that the police made them feel uncomfortable by staring at them while they used the restroom, and it seems that if anyone is guilty of lewdness it was actually the undercover officer.

It is not clear why undercover agents have been placed in these bathrooms to begin with, even Capt. John Fitzpatrick, the Port Authority police commander who oversees the bus terminal, admits that complaints of lewdness in public bathrooms are “few and far in between”.

Although, Fitzpatrick is still standing by the actions of his officers, claiming that the dozens of men who have now filed complaints were in fact being lewd in the restroom, otherwise, he says, they would not have been arrested.

“They are not sidling up to somebody, trying to sneak a peek and misrepresenting what the person is doing, there is no mistaking their behavior,” he said.

One man, accused of “simulating masturbation” says that he was simply “shaking off”, a near instinctual act that is not at all lewd or uncommon.

“I wasn’t committing a lewd act, I was peeing in the beginning, but I was shaking off when the guy stepped back and looked at me,” Mr. Holden, a 28-year-old baker, said of his police encounter.

After Holden walked out of the bathroom he was arrested by police and taken to jail. When Holden was being processed in the jail he overheard one of the other cops refer to his arresting officer as “the gay whisperer”. This was a fairly offensive comment for Holden, consider the fact that he is a gay man, and feels that may be the reason why he got arrested.

“I wore a leather jacket, fitted clothes. I guess that fits the description of a homosexual male, I was like, O.K., although I’m gay, I wasn’t doing anything,” he said.

Holden’s story is just one of dozens, and although there may be a few perverts in the bunch, it is safe to say that a vast majority of these people are innocent.

NY - Sex Offenders Housing Restrictions Are Pointless

Original Article

08/25/2014

By Jesse Singal

On Thursday, Joseph Goldstein of the New York Times reported that “Dozens of sex offenders who have satisfied their sentences in New York State are being held in prison beyond their release dates because of a new interpretation of a state law that governs where they can live.” In short, since 2005, sex offenders in the state can't live within 1,000 feet of a school, and a February ruling from the state's Department of Corrections and Community Supervision extended that restriction to homeless shelters.

Because the onus is on sex offenders to find approved housing before they’re released, Goldstein reported, they've been left with very few options, especially in densely-populated New York City, where there are schools everywhere. This has led to an uncomfortable legal limbo and sparked at least one lawsuit (so far) on behalf of an offender who is still in custody even though he was supposed to be out by now.

The unfortunate thing about this situation is that laws designed to restrict where sex offenders can live are really and truly useless, except as a means of politicians scoring easy political points by ratcheting up hysteria. There are many tricky social-scientific issues on which there are a range of opinions and some degree of debate among experts, but this isn't one of them. Among those whose job it is to figure out how to reduce the rate at which sex offenders commit crimes (as opposed to those whose job it is to get reelected, in part by hammering away at phantom threats), there is zero controversy: These laws don't work, and may actually increase sexual offenders’ recidivism rates.

Maia Christopher, head of the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers, sent Science of Us a policy paper her organization has prepared on this issue (it’s not yet online, but should be later this week). ATSA’s views on housing restrictions for sex offenders are completely straightforward: The group “does not support the use of residence restrictions as a feasible strategy for sex offender management” because of a lack of evidence they do any good.

The paper notes that these laws have proliferated—“[a]t least 30 states and hundreds of cities” have them—because of some basic misunderstandings about how sex crimes are committed. There’s a collective American fixation on the creepy image of a sex offender salivating just beyond the playground fence, but that’s just not how things usually work.

Rather, these crimes are generally committed by someone known to the victim—93 percent of the time when it comes to child victims, according to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics—and the majority take place either in the victim’s home or the home of someone they know. “Therefore,” the authors write, “policies based on ‘stranger danger’ do not adequately address the reality of sexual abuse.”

Rest of the article

NY - Registry won't make us all safer

Placebo

Original Article

05/15/2014

The problem with feel-good public safety initiatives like the proposed Violent Offenders Registry is that they lull us into a false sense that we're doing something legitimate to protect ourselves from harm.

The state Legislature, once again borrowing from a tragedy involving a child, has proposed setting up a list of people who've served time for violent crimes. The bill, dubbed "Brittany's Law," is similar in design and purpose to the sex offender registries that became popular two decades ago.

Like the state’s 18-year-old sex offender registry, this bill would require violent felons to register with the state. Those subject to registration would be anyone convicted under the "violent offender" section of state Penal Law -- which covers such crimes as murders, assaults, kidnappings, terrorism and gang violence.

The information available to the public from the registry could include the person's name, address, photo and information about the crime he or she committed. How much information that would be available on each subject would be determined by ranking, again similar to sex offender registries, based on a subjective determination of the felon's propensity to commit more violent crimes, with Level 1 being the lowest and Level 3 the highest.

The crime upon which this bill is based is the 2009 murder of 12 year-old Brittany Passalacqua and her mother, Helen Buchel. Their killer, John Edward Brown, was on early release from prison after serving most of a 3-year sentence for violently assaulting his infant daughter.

Supporters of the registry claim Brittany's Law could have prevented their deaths by alerting the victims to the presence of a killer living among them.

It's true, it would be nice to know when a violent felon, like a sex offender, is living in the neighborhood. But in reality, how many of us regularly check the lists to find out? The new registry wouldn’t take into consideration the fact that many violent crimes are committed by people under duress, or influenced by alcohol and other circumstances that might be precipitated by a single incident. In other words, a lot of violent people in your neighborhood, just like people with a propensity to abuse children or commit sexual assaults, wouldn't necessarily appear on this list unless they’d been caught and convicted. The registry also doesn't take into consideration the fact that most victims of sexual or domestic violence already know their assailants. So how extra-safe would this list really make the rest of us?

Several studies conducted over the years have questioned the effectiveness of such registries in preventing sex crimes, while other studies have challenged the validity of the recidivism rankings in assessing individuals’ propensity to repeat their crimes. Some studies have found that registries compel offenders to get treatment and behave themselves, while others have shown being on the list stresses out some offenders, drives them into hiding, discourages them from getting treatment and/or compels them to commit more crimes.

The registries do often allow police to keep better tabs on individuals with criminal backgrounds, which could lead to quicker identification of suspects in new crimes. But knowing someone's address doesn't mean their whereabouts is known 24 hours a day, to police or potential victims.

There's also the question of whether a person should be subject to registration after they've served their sentence. Even when a person is off the list, either by timing out or having their conviction overturned, the Internet would make their listing a permanent one.

For police and certain victims of violence, having a registry of violent offenders could provide a useful tool. So it's probably not a bad thing for the Legislature to set up.

But for most of us, it might make us feel like we're a little safer. But actually, we're all still just as safe ... and all still just as vulnerable.

NY - Bill would tighten sex offender rules

Original Article

05/10/2014

Legislation introduced by state Sen. Patrick Gallivan concerning sex offenders makes sense and should be approved by lawmakers. The bill would require the state to notify local municipalities and schools when a sex offender is transferred from a state facility to a community residence or program. The commissioner of the Office of People With Developmental Disabilities would be required to make the notifications no later than 10 days before the transfer takes place.

“The relocation of dangerous individuals to a residential neighborhood is always cause for concern. Local officials have a right to know about the transfer of sex offenders into a community program or residence in their community, so that they have time to properly address public concerns and security issues,” Sen. Gallivan said in a news release.

The bill, S7064, is co-sponsored by state Sen. Michael Ranzenhofer, and has been referred to the committee on Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities.

Such notification would go a long way toward easing concerns such as were raised when several developmentally disabled sex offenders were placed in group homes after the state facility where they had been staying was closed. People living near the state-owned group homes, in West Seneca and Scottsville, were caught off guard.

Notification is important. People do need to know when a convicted sex offender is living in their neighborhood. They also need to assess the level of danger that sex offender poses. Each convicted sex offender is evaluated and assigned a level. Factors taken into consideration include use of force, weapons, alcohol or drugs, the victim’s age, number of victims, assault or injury of the victim and relationship to the victim. Then a judgment is made according to how likely the offender is to repeat the behavior. Those at low risk of repeating the offense are assigned to Level 1; Level 2 is for those with moderate risk; Level 3 are those at high risk of re-offending and who present a threat to public safety.

Knowledge goes a long way toward easing fears and helping people deal appropriately with the situation. A Level 1 offender in the neighborhood is reason for caution, not panic. Sen. Gallivan’s bill would make sure people get the knowledge they need to keep everyone safe.

People should remember, however, that not every sex offender has been caught and conveniently labeled. Children need to be protected from known offenders, but they also need to be protected from offenders who aren’t yet known. In the end, there is no substitute for good parenting and precaution.

NY - The Box: Teens in Solitary Confinement in U.S. Jails, Prisons and Juvenile Halls

Video Description:
Read the stories at https://medium.com/solitary-lives. Every year, thousands of teens are placed in solitary confinement cells in juvenile halls, jails and prisons nationwide. This animation tells the story of Ismael "Izzy" Nazario and the time he spent in solitary confinement in New York City's Rikers Island jail. This story is based on an investigation by The Center for Investigative Reporting and was created using real audio from an interview with Nazario. It features music from Mos Def. www.cironline.org

See Also:

• For teens at Rikers Island, solitary confinement pushes mental limits

NY - City officer (Adam Schwabrow) facing a year in jail for raping a 16-year-old girl

Adam Schwabrow

Original Article

03/05/2014

By MICHAEL ANICH

JOHNSTOWN - Former city Patrolman Adam Schwabrow has gone from law-enforcement officer to sex offender.

Schwabrow pleaded guilty Tuesday in Fulton County Court to raping a 16-year-old girl in May 2011 and is expected to be sentenced this spring to a year in jail.

He also resigned Tuesday from the city Police Department and will be required by the state to register as a sex offender.

The sentencing of Schwabrow, 32, is scheduled for 10 a.m. May 13 at the County Courthouse.

Schwabrow's attorney, Michael McDermott of Albany, said today Schwabrow "regrets decisions he made" and is remorseful.

"With this letter, I hereby submit my resignation from the Johnstown Police Department as a police officer, effective immediately," stated a letter dated Tuesday from Schwabrow to Chief Mark Gifford.

Gifford couldn't be reached this morning for comment.

Schwabrow, a nine-year veteran of the city police force, was a former K-9 handler and president of the Johnstown Police Benevolent Association.

"It's something hopefully that we're putting behind us," Mayor Michael Julius said today of the Schwabrow case.

Schwabrow entered his guilty plea to felony third-degree rape before acting Fulton County Court Judge Peter Feldstein.

In a news release issued Tuesday by Saratoga County District Attorney James A. Murphy III, whose office prosecuted the case, he noted Schwabrow was not on duty at the time of the crime and no force was alleged.

"As an adult, he should know better than to have sex with a minor, and that is exactly why the statute is written, to protect young girls," Murphy said in the news release. "Someone who commits a felony and exercises such horrific judgment should never be a police officer and that is why we insisted on a resignation as part of the felony conviction and jail time. In addition, he will be registered with the New York Sex Offender Registry upon his release from jail."

Saratoga County Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Buckley, who prosecuted the case, also issued a statement.

"The victim was fully cooperative in the prosecution and is relieved this part of her life is over," Buckley said. "She is satisfied that he [pleaded] guilty to a felony and has resigned as a police officer. "

Defense attorney McDermott said Schwabrow has been remorseful and stands ready to take his punishment.

"He regrets decisions he made," McDermott said. "He regrets any harm he did. He takes full responsibility for his actions."

McDermott said his client has no fear of being an ex-police officer incarcerated among criminals.

"He's confident he will serve his time and move on with it," he said.

Schwabrow was charged Sept. 19 by his own department with felony third-degree rape, commonly known as statutory rape.

He could have faced 1 1/3 to four years in state prison for the charge. Schwabrow had been free on $5,000 cash bail.

Schwabrow was suspended with pay after his arrest.

Schwabrow had also served as director of the Montgomery County Emergency Management Office, but the county replaced him after his arrest.

Gifford previously said Schwabrow was arrested after an investigation uncovered evidence he had sexual contact with the girl.

Murphy said last fall the victim "was known to the defendant" and that Schwabrow didn't attack the victim.

He also said his office was investigating whether Schwabrow pulled his police firearm while fellow officers were trying to arrest him in September at the station. Schwabrow was never charged with a crime related to that alleged incident.

Fulton County District Attorney Louise Sira said after the arrest the alleged rape took place in the city of Johnstown. She said there has been no allegation or evidence of forced sexual contact between Schwabrow and the victim.

She said forced sexual contact typically falls under the category of first-degree rape, which was not alleged in this case.

She said people younger than 17 in New York state cannot legally consent to sexual contact with an adult.

Sira on Tuesday said in a prepared statement, "Officer Schwabrow resigned his position with the Johnstown Police Department effective today at 1 p.m. as part of the plea agreement entered into with the Saratoga County DA's office. Schwabrow was previously ordered to surrender any firearms at the time of arrest, which occurred on September 19, 2013, including his duty revolver and other personal firearms. The DA's office was not provided a list of the firearms, but they were surrendered to the Fulton County Sheriff's Department."

Sira added, "In addition, at the time of sentencing, Schwabrow is expected to receive one year in the Fulton County Jail together with appropriate fines and surcharges."

NY - Disabled sex offenders being unfairly vilified

Original Article

It's not just disabled ex-offenders but all ex-offenders, but glad you are speaking out on today's modern day lepers and scapegoats.

03/05/2014

We are writing on behalf of the board and members of the Self-Advocacy Association of New York State (SANYS). We are an organization run by and for people with developmental disabilities. We help people speak up for themselves and others.

With this letter, we are speaking up for eight men with developmental disabilities who have a sex-offender status and who have moved into the Buffalo area. We are sad and upset about the articles we have read and the videos we have watched that show the hurtful reaction to these men by members of the community where they live. It is horrifying for us to see their pictures on a TV screen.

It is terrible to hear them spoken of as if they are not human. If they did not have a developmental disability, they would be living in the community without any support. The organizations that are providing services to these men know what they are doing, and they are providing the support each man needs to live successfully in the community.

We ask people who have made negative and hurtful statements to stop. These people have the right to live in their community like other citizens. We would also like to acknowledge the good work of the agencies that are providing the services and the staffing.

Cathy Loquercio - President, SANYS
Steve Holmes - Administrative Director, SANYS

NY - 15 Years In Environment Of Constant Fear Somehow Fails To Rehabilitate Prisoner

Original Article

03/04/2014

WOODBOURNE - Reportedly left dumbfounded by the news that recent parolee Terry Raney had been reincarcerated on charges of assault and battery, officials at Woodbourne Correctional Facility struggled Tuesday to make sense of how the prisoner had not been rehabilitated by 15 years of constant threats, physical abuse, and periodic isolation.

“It just doesn’t seem possible that an inmate could live for a decade and a half in a completely dehumanizing environment in which violent felons were constantly on the verge of attacking or even killing him and not emerge an emotionally stable, productive member of society,” said chief warden Albert Gunderson, who noted that, as hard as it was to believe, Raney’s recidivism proved that his criminal impulses had not in fact been corrected by the sense of grave distrust he felt toward every other person in the facility, including both fellow inmates and prison authorities, every day since 1999.

“We surrounded him with a combustible mix of rival gangs and made sure that he was consumed by a round-the-clock sense of terror that the slightest misstep on his part could result in a sharpened piece of scrap metal being shoved into his neck, and yet he still leaves this facility with the same criminal thoughts and violent mindset as before? I’m truly at a loss for how this could have happened.” Gunderson then noted his additional confusion at how the man’s criminal record and the social stigma of his prison sentence had somehow failed to land him a steady job immediately upon his release.

This story is satire (a parody)

NY - New York State Exposed Follow-Up: Cuomo questioned about offenders

Media stirring up the mob?

Original Article

02/24/2014

By Brett Davidsen

News10NBC has an update on our New York State Exposed report about sex offenders being placed in group homes. It’s a story that has touched a nerve in communities throughout western New York. While in Buffalo Monday, the governor was again asked about the controversial issue.

News10NBC asked the governor last week during his visit to Rochester about sex offenders being moved from the closed Monroe Developmental Center in Brighton to group home settings. On Monday, after an announcement in Buffalo, Governor Cuomo was questioned again about the topic and seemed to take a more sympathetic tone.

It comes on the heels of a protest in West Seneca on Saturday in which an estimated 300 people showed up. Residents and their town supervisor learned from our initial report that seven convicted sex offenders with developmental disabilities had recently been relocated from MDC to two adjoining group homes in a residential neighborhood there.

But it isn't just West Seneca. News10NBC’s investigation found that a dozen medium and high risk sex offenders who were in a secure unit of the institution just prior to its closing were quietly relocated to group homes throughout the area. Two of them are living in a home on North Road in Scottsville.

Critics of the closure plan forewarned that many of the residents could be a danger to the community and themselves if removed from a secure setting where they also receive intense treatment. The governor acknowledged that placement of the offenders needs to be carefully considered.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said, "I understand why they would be nervous and why they would be upset. It's a real problem that we have. Sex offenders are released at one point when they are quote-unquote treated and deemed not at risk to society. But I totally understand the anxiety and the location should be appropriate."

The governor's office says any sex offender that poses a danger has been moved to another secure facility. Also, despite security concerns, state officials say the group homes have locks, alarms and trained supervision. The governor's office says it's important to point out these folks are in their care, not because they're criminals, but because they are developmentally disabled.

NY - Two firms bid on Nassau sex offender monitoring contract

Original Article

Why are they even considering to allow biased "non-profit" organizations to monitor ex-offenders in the first place? This is a job for the police not someone else. Its well known that Laura Ahern of Parents for Megan's law has stooped to vigilante action before.

02/27/2014

By Robert Brodsky

Two Long Island nonprofit groups have bid on a proposed contract to intensify Nassau County’s monitoring of registered sex offenders.

Parents for Megan’s Law, a Stony Brook firm which conducts a similar monitoring program for Suffolk County, and Safe Center Long Island of Bethpage each placed bids on a request for proposals issued by the county before Wednesday’s deadline.

The Safe Center and its sister organizations have several existing contracts with Nassau to assist victims of domestic violence and child abuse.

Nassau spokesman Brian Nevin declined to identify the two bidders, although both firms have independently confirmed that they placed bids on the RFP.

Nassau wants to hire a private consultant to monitor its more than 550 registered sex offenders, including tracking their posts on social media and creating a smartphone app the public can use to report potential violations.

The vendor would also step up enforcement of requirements that convicted sex offenders accurately register their current address with the state.

While the cost of Nassau's proposed three-year contract is unclear, Suffolk -- which monitors more than 1,000 convicted sex offenders -- has a three-year, $2.7 million contract with Parents for Megan's Law.

The county is expected to select a winner in early March.

NY - New York State Exposed Follow Up: Sex offenders in group homes

Original Article

Just another example of the media stirring the pot just to get a news story? We call it Media Vigilantism!

02/22/2014

By Amanda Ciavarri

It's a story that's gotten so much attention since News10NBC first brought it to you last week. Convicted sex offenders are quietly being moved into group homes and residential areas.

Now, one area community is fighting back.

Hundreds of people were out in force Saturday, trying to get their message across.

That message is to keep those sex offenders out of the group homes and away from neighborhoods where they could pose a threat to families that live nearby.

News10NBC was at that rally in West Seneca Saturday.

Dozens of people in West Seneca came out to protest. They brought signs to the front of a group home where the state recently re-located seven convicted sex offenders. Now the community wants to know, why they weren't told and why the state is putting them in danger.

"Everyone was blindsided by this. I think that is what everyone is the most upset about. No one knew anything and now it is a matter of, okay, we have calmed down from the lack of notification, now we want action. We want these guys out of here, we want them moved out. We aren't going to be held prisoners in our own home,” said Tony Fischione, protest organizer.
- The only person that is holding you prisoner in your own home is yourself!

About 300 people met at Sunshine Park Saturday afternoon. It is a popular playground for neighborhood children, but now it is just a few yards away from where seven sex offenders are living.

“I don't feel safe, and my kids can't come here and play in this park anymore, because the houses back right up to this park. There are running trails in those woods, and I can't run those. I don't feel safe letting my kids around town anymore,” said Teri Bebak, resident and mother.

This group then started their peaceful march down the street and to the two homes where the sex offenders are living.

The seven sex offenders, all men, previously lived in the Monroe Developmental Center in Brighton. The state closed the facility in December, and that's when those men were moved in here.

Their convictions range from attempted rape to child sex abuse.

“I think Governor Cuomo made this decision as a political move, to save money. He did it very secretly, he did it very quietly, and he did it at the expense of our children, and that's not okay,” said Bebak.

Earlier this week News10NBC asked Governor Cuomo about the relocation and told him about the concerns of this community.

“How was it that one day they were in need of that type of security, and the next day they are able to live in these types of group homes?” asked News10NBC’s Brett Davidsen.

“If a person requires a secure facility, they require a secure facility. But the problem we’re having by in large is not a person who is in a secure facility. The problem we’re having are former sex offenders while released and return to the community, and people are saying ‘I don’t want to live next to a former sex offender.’ That’s the predominance of the problem,” said Gov. Cuomo.
- The problem is the online registry, community notification and residency laws!

But this group isn't so convinced that's true, and they hope Governor Cuomo, and Albany hear their message loud and clear.

“I intend to let them know, we aren't done here. We are watching them. We aren't leaving, they are leaving,” said Fischione.

Many people plan on protesting every weekend until the state moves the sex offenders out of this community. If that doesn't happen soon, they will also take the protest to Albany in April.

NY - Retired state police investigator (Randolph B. Stark) convicted of sex abuse

Randolph B. Stark

Original Article

02/20/2014

By D.W. Nutt

A retired New York State Police investigator who once served on a sex abuse task force was convicted of first-degree sexual abuse Wednesday in Tompkins County Court.

Randolph B. Stark, 61, was on trial for subjecting a woman to non-consensual sexual conduct while she was physically helpless on May 31 in the Town of Ulysses.

The decision was announced in a news release Thursday by the district attorney’s office.

Stark was arrested on June 1 and was charged with first- and third-degree sexual abuse.

According to court papers, late on the night of May 31, Stark touched a woman on her upper thigh and buttock area, under the waistband of her shorts, while she was asleep. Stark’s defense team argued for dismissal of the case, saying, in part, that no physical harm resulted from the touching and that Stark was drunk to the point of “blacking out,” thus unable to form the intent to commit a crime.

In denying the defense’s motion for dismissal on Nov. 5, Judge John Rowley wrote, “Defendant’s lack of a criminal record and prior public service pale in comparison to the potential harm to the alleged victim and the community if a retired police investigator’s sexual abuse charges were to be dismissed because there was no ‘physical harm as a result of the touching’ and because defendant was allegedly intoxicated at the time of the crime.’”

The judge also cited the impact on the public’s confidence if the case were dismissed.

“Defendant seeks dismissal precisely because he enjoyed a position of responsibility and power within the criminal justice system. The failure to treat him like any other accused person would be devastating to public confidence,” Rowley wrote.

Stark, who pleaded not guilty to the charges, was described in documents from the defense as a lifelong resident of the area who served in the U.S. Navy before joining the New York State Police. During his tenure with the state police, Stark worked undercover for five years. In 1987, he was promoted to the Bureau of Criminal Investigation as an investigator. In 1989, he received three commendations and two unit commendations. While serving in the Major Crimes Division from 1994 to 1997, he was named Investigator of the Year.

Stark served on the Sex Abuse Task Force from 1997 until 2000, along with current District Attorney Gwen Wilkinson. In 2000, Stark was promoted to senior investigator and was moved to the Community Narcotics Enforcement Team drug task force. Stark retired in 2003 and has since worked security for a number of area businesses.

The case went to trial in January and was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Wendy Franklin. Stark waived his right to a jury trial. He was represented by Ithaca attorney John A. Stevens. The New York State Police conducted the investigation.

Rowley dismissed a lesser charge of sexual abuse in the third degree.

Stark is scheduled to be sentenced April 9. He faces up to seven years in prison and will be required to register as a sex offender.

See Also:

• Former state police investigator sentenced for sex abuse to year in Tompkins County Jail

NY - Organizing Against Sex Offenders

Original Article

02/17/2014

By Dave McKinley

Two Different Western New York Communities are taking two different approaches, toward one common goal

BUFFALO - Two separate Western New York communities, are taking two different approaches, toward one common goal; to rid their neighborhoods of sex offenders, placed in group homes by the state, after it closed a secure facility near Rochester late last year.

In Newstead, a group home for persons with developmental disabilities on Rapids Road operated by People Inc. has become the object of attention, after it was discovered that one of its newest residents is a registered sex offender.

At the same time, seven other sex offenders, from the shuttered Rochester area facility, were placed at two adjoining group homes on Leydecker Road in West Seneca.

"We're not a community that is open to places being shut down in far away communities and counties and having those people with criminal records, especially a sex offender, come to our neighborhood," said Newstead Town Councilman Justin Rooney.

Rooney has organized a public meeting set for Wednesday at 7 pm, at the Newstead Town Library, where he says representatives of People Inc. and The NY State Office for People with Developmental Disabilities have agreed to appear and address community concerns.

"They were very responsive (to town officials), we asked them some pointed questions, we're going to go over those questions with the public on Wednesday and hopefully they will continue to be responsive and open to us," Rooney said.

In West Seneca meanwhile, concerns have boiled over into plans for protest marches.

"Personally I'm not stopping until they're gone," said Tony Fischione, who has organized the first of what he promises will be demonstrations every weekend this coming Saturday.

It will begin at Sunshine Park and proceed to where the group homes are located some 600 yards away.

"We're trying to get as many people out here as possible with signs, flags, banners, …whatever we can think of ," said Fischione. "We're sick of it and we're not going to put up with it," he said.

NY - Gallivan Pledges Review of Sex Offender Laws

Original Article

02/13/2014

By Dave McKinley

Local officials concerned over state relocating sex offenders in their towns.

WEST SENECA - After our story that aired Wednesday regarding the state's surprise placement of seven-convicted sex offenders in a West Seneca neighborhood, officials in other towns are expressing concerns about whether similar situations will crop up in their municipalities.

At least one state lawmaker is pledging to look into their concerns.

"There are three or four places where it's just happened," New York State Sen. Patrick Gallivan (R-59th District) told several town supervisors and mayors in his district. He meets with the local leaders regularly to discuss a variety of issues.

At such a meeting held Thursday, West Seneca Town Supervisor Sheila Meegan issued a warning for her colleagues.

"I want you to know, it's coming to your neighborhood, too," Meegan said.

The state, in an effort to save money, continues to shut down secure facilities, de-institutionalizing those with severe developmental disabilities by placing them in group homes instead.

This resulted in the recent placement of seven men, previously housed in a secure facility near Rochester, into two homes recently acquired by the state on Leydecker Road.

However, besides being developmentally disabled, the men are also convicted sex offenders ... now living near concerned neighbors with children.

"This is something, now that it's called to our attention, that I think we have an obligation to take up", said Gallivan, who chairs the Senate Committee on Crime and Corrections.

One thing he would like his committee to take up is notification laws.

Records show the state dutifully notified West Seneca police when the sex offenders were placed in the community, but, under current law, it did not have to tell anyone else, like town officials or neighbors.

"My God …how can the state say, 'that's okay, we followed the law and that's good enough'? Well, it's not good enough," said Gallivan. "If there's not that legal (notification) requirement now, I would suggest that there should be, and that's one of the things we will be looking into, to effect what I would think is a necessary change."

Gallivan also pledged to look into another concern expressed by local officials: the fact that any local laws they may have created, governing where registered sex offenders can live, do not apply to state facilities, including group homes.

"You could understand why there could be some exemption for an institutional type setting, where there are obvious signs such as fences and other security measures," said Gallivan, explaining that anyone would be able to easily deduce that there people living there, under the care and custody of the state, who may pose a danger to others.

"But when they are being housed in a residential area, in homes appearing no different than surrounding neighbors, it makes absolutely no sense that an exemption like that should exist," he said.

See Also:

• Town boards of Newstead, West Seneca hear concerns about sex offenders at group homes

NY - Counties will submit sex offenders (on probation / parole) to polygraph test

Original Article

Herkimer and Oneida counties soon will subject sex offenders on probation to polygraph testing that officials say will enhance treatment and supervision of those individuals.

"Basically, it would entitle our department and our supervisors to hopefully address treatment concerns and show any red flags that we could address," said Herkimer County Probation Supervisor Garry Murphy.

New York state, he said, has recommended polygraph tests as part of probation or treatment. He said that in order for the department to continue to receive funding from the State Aid Plan and Block Grant — which funds individual programs within probation departments — polygraph tests must be administered.

"The state is really looking for a monitoring process, and this is another application for that," he said.

Herkimer County entered into an agreement with Northeast Polygraph Services in Ravena in accordance with the Sex Offender Registry Act and state legislation via a resolution passed by the county Legislature Jan. 29. Each test would cost $250, which would be paid by the offender unless he or she could prove they couldn't afford it. In those cases, the cost would fall back on the county's probation department.

Murphy said a representative from Northeast Polygraph would come to Herkimer County to administer the tests.

Though Murphy said plans have not been cemented about when Herkimer County would begin the testing, David Tomidy, director of Oneida County's Probation Department, said his office is expecting to begin them in March or April after putting the service up to bid.

Tomidy said the results of a polygraph test would not be used against a client in a court hearing.
- Yeah right!  People also have the fifth amendment, the right to remain silent, which they should exercise, in our opinion.

"A lot of people continue to deny their issues. This could put an end to that," he said. "This would be strictly for treatment and supervision."

Murphy estimates there are between 40 and 50 sex offenders on probation in Herkimer County. Oneida County's numbers are closer to 75 or 80, he said.

Herkimer County Sheriff Christopher Farber said the frequency and timing of the tests would depend on the severity of the offender's risk level. For example, Farber said a Level 3 offender – the highest level of risk – might undergo polygraph testing once a year.

"Obviously, the higher risk offenders we would scrutinize more," Murphy said.

Farber, however, is wary about the tests.

"I'm not sure how much faith I have in the polygraph," he said, "just because I heard of cases that people have tricked it."

NY - Man haunted by sex offender with same name & birthdate

Original Article

02/12/2014

By Lou Raguse

BUFFALO (WIVB) - Imagine not being able to land a job because you have the same name and birth date as a convicted sex offender. A Buffalo man is facing that very tough situation right now.

It is an indescribable frustration facing _____, a North Buffalo man with family to provide for, who says he’s not giving up until his name is cleared.

When your name is _____, you know you’re not the only one out there.

“I told my mom I wanted to change it. She said no, I gave you that name,” _____ said.

Unfortunately for this _____, there is another man in Buffalo who shares the same name, the same date of birth, and just happens to be a registered sex offender.

“There is no way I should be associated with this guy. We don’t look the same,” he said.

They don’t have the same middle name either. But that doesn't matter. Because _____ the sex offender is now haunting _____ the father of 5, who’s never been convicted of a serious crime.

“Being wrongly accused of being a sex offender is the worst. It’s worse than being accused of being a felon,” _____ said.

_____ waited ten years to be accepted for rental assistance, but his acceptance was short lived. When Belmont Housing Resources pulled his criminal history and it said he was a sex offender, they denied him.

“I needed this to be able to provide for my family. And it was taken away from me for something I didn’t do myself. I didn’t do that,” _____ said.

_____ printed off a copy of his criminal history report. And sure enough, that sex offender part is in there.

According to Erie county central police services, it is an unfortunate result of how these NCIC background checks work. They search by name and date of birth, and if no one asks a follow-up question, mistakes like this can happen.

That’s not good enough to _____, who feels like his identity has been stolen.

“You guys made this mistake. Why can’t you guys fix it?” _____ said.

_____ says he hasn't been able to land a job for the last two years — even fast food jobs. Two years ago is when _____ was added to the sex offender registry by the Buffalo Police Department.

Belmont Housing Resources will keep his case open and work with him to get assistance.

NY - Town boards of Newstead, West Seneca hear concerns about sex offenders at group homes

Original Article

This is pure hysteria! Ex-offenders get old as well and they need a place to stay when they cannot take care of themselves.

02/10/2014

By Janice Habuda

Two town boards – Newstead and West Seneca – addressed concerns Monday night about newly opened group homes where registered sex offenders are among the residents.

In West Seneca, town officials said Monday night at least seven convicted sex offenders who had been living in the Monroe Developmental Center in suburban Rochester have turned up in group homes in a West Seneca neighborhood.

“It is extremely concerning to me,” Town Supervisor Sheila M. Meegan said at Monday’s West Seneca Town Board meeting.

“The predators are from Monroe County and they brought them here; they did it at night,” said Meegan, who noted that she’s been in contact with State Sen. Patrick M. Gallivan, R-Elma, about the lack of notification to public officials and the fact the men are being housed in unsecured facilities.

“I immediately reached out to the senator and he agrees 100 percent,” Meegan said.

According to public records, the men are living at two addresses on Leydecker Road, on the former site of the West Seneca Developmental Center, which closed in 2011.

Classified as moderate- or high-risk offenders, four of the men were convicted of sexual crimes involving children younger than 10 years old. Six were convicted of crimes in Niagara, Erie or Chautauqua counties; the seventh was convicted in Monroe County.

The men were placed in the homes after the state closed the Monroe facility at the end of December, as part of a statewide effort to save money and de-institutionalize those with severe developmental disabilities.

In Newstead, a large crowd of residents living near two homes run by People Inc. attended the town board meeting.

Mark Outten, who lives across from the home on Rapids Road, asked board members why they never gave the public notice of the homes when People Inc. first let the board know that they were looking at two sites in Newstead in May 2013.

Supervisor David Cummings apologized and took responsibility for the board not notifying the public, but said that they did not have the information they have now.

“We went with the information we had at that point in time,” he said. “We went with the mentality of what we had dealt with in the past and shame on us for that. We can’t change the past, but we can move forward and make as many corrections to what’s there as we can legally going forward.”

Councilwoman Marybeth Whiting, who serves with Councilman Justin Rooney on the committee set up to look into the two recently opened group homes, said it was important to deal with reality when trying to figure out a solution to the issues surrounding the homes.

“We really, really want to deal with facts,” she said. “Not what you’ve heard, and not what you’re thinking, but facts…Really try to focus on facts.”
- Really?  Then you will know that sex offenders have one of the lowest recidivism rates of all other ex-criminals and that most who sexually abuse someone, it's someone in their own family, not some stranger!

The committee was set to meet with officials from People Inc. and the state on Wednesday.

Rhonda I. Frederick, chief operating officer of People Inc. and Kevin Penberthy, a deputy director from the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities, were scheduled to meet with the group at 6 p.m. at Newstead Town Hall.

A meeting with the community is planned at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 19 with Frederick and a director from the Office for People With Developmental Disabilities. That meeting is slated to be held in the new Cultural Center, located in the basement of the Newstead Public Library, 33 Main St. in the Village of Akron.

The committee met Monday night before the Town Board meeting, and developed a list of questions for Frederick and Penberthy, said Newstead resident Kevin Borth, who is one of six residents serving on the committee.

“We’re trying to figure out who’s responsible for what,” he said. “Who’s responsible for the sex offender in there? Who does oversight?”

The committee is trying to get as much information as possible from the people who make decisions regarding the group homes on Rapids Road and Buckwheat Road, Borth said.

“Knowledge is power on this,” he said.

NY - PEOPLE v. BUSS

Original Article

Excerpt:
Following a March 1983 incident in which he violently assaulted a neighbor, Buss pleaded guilty to one count of sexual abuse in the first degree and one count of assault in the second degree, in satisfaction of all charges. He was sentenced to 2 to 6 years' imprisonment on each count, to run concurrently. [11 N.Y.3d 556] In February 1987, while on parole supervision, Buss attacked and stabbed an acquaintance in her home. He pleaded guilty to attempted murder in the second degree, in full satisfaction of an indictment that included first-degree rape and first-degree sodomy counts. He was sentenced, as a second violent felony offender, to 10 to 20 years' imprisonment.

When Buss was released in 2002, the Board of Examiners of Sex Offenders (the Board) determined that he was required to register under the Sex Offender Registration Act (SORA), citing his 1983 sexual abuse conviction. The Board calculated a total risk assessment score of 80 points, on the basis of the 1983 incident, making Buss presumptively a level two (moderate risk) offender (see Correction Law § 168-l [6]). The Board however recommended an upward departure to level three (high risk), because of "the brutal sexual and physical assault" Buss committed in 1987. Buss filed an objection to the Board's recommended SORA assessment level, arguing, among other things, that SORA does not apply to him because his sentence for the sexual abuse conviction "was due to expire" before SORA became effective in 1996.

County Court rejected that argument and designated Buss a level three sex offender. The court agreed with the Board's level three recommendation, based on two overrides, "offender inflicted serious physical injury or caused death" and "offender has made a recent threat that he will reoffend by committing a sexual or violent crime." (Sex Offender Registration Act: Risk Assessment Guidelines and Commentary, Overrides 2, 3 [Nov. 1997].)

Read the rest of the article

NY - So should all businesses be forced to get community approval before opening their doors?

Original Article

02/09/2014

By Michael Canfield

When the neighbors of a recently opened group home for people with developmental disabilities on Rapids Road in Newstead first heard about the facility opening, they were receptive to having the human services agency in the neighborhood.

Just over a month later, however, neighbors have changed their position.

Problems with cars parking on the side of the road, several emergency calls to the home and news that a convicted sex offender was living in the home have all created tensions. Combine that with worries about declining property values, and residents near the home are less than happy with People Inc., which sponsors the home.

People Inc. “just force-fed it down our throats without talking to us about it,” said Joseph M. Dugan, a 23-year Army veteran who lives next door to the home with his wife and family.
- Why should a business have to come get your approval before they open?

While many on the rural stretch of road knew that a group home was going into the house, neighbors said, they had no idea that a sex offender would be among the residents. Now they have become worried about what other residents of the six-bedroom home might be a cause for concern.
- So if the ex-offender didn't live there, would it be okay then?

“This is something we’ve never had to worry about,” Dugan said. “We don’t know who’s in there.”
- Why don't you go over there and ask them?  Get a tour of the place!

Michael J. Adymy, who also lives next to the home with his family, had moved to Newstead to live in the country and get away from the problems found in more populated areas. He’s starting to see those problems crop up now.

“We’re uncomfortable,” Adymy said. “We moved out here to get away from it all.”

Mark P. Outten, who lives across the street from the home, said he isn’t against People Inc., just how the organization went about putting the group home in.

“I’m not saying that People Inc. is all bad,” Outten said. “They do have some fantastic stuff going, but I think they did us way wrong. They didn’t care about us at all when they did this.”

Residents living near the home shouldn’t worry about safety, said Rhonda I. Frederick, chief operating officer of People Inc., noting that the home is staffed “24 hours a day, seven days a week.”

“Each resident has an individual service plan, and we provide the supports they need,” she said.

Read the rest of the article

NY - Sex offender laws must be toughened

Phil Goldfeder

Original Article

Just another politician exploiting ex-offenders, fear, families and children to make a name for himself (See this video)? This is just a placebo to pacify people and lull them into a false sense of security. The city won't be any more safe. Not all ex-offenders harm children, and this is another blanket law that treats all ex-offenders as if they do. If a person is intent on committing a crime, this won't stop them, but the fact is, most sexual crimes occur in the victims own home and family, not at some park or school.

02/08/2014

In an effort to crack down on some of New York’s worst sex offenders, Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder (D-Rockaway Park) said he will introduce legislation that would restrict them from residing within 500 feet or less from any public park with a playground.

“As a parent of two young children, I understand how critical it is that we create stronger laws to keep sexual predators out of areas where our children congregate and play,” Goldfeder said. “I drafted this new legislation to ensure that sex offenders stay out of our public parks and away from our children.”

The bill would fine tune current laws by forbidding level two and three sex offenders – which, according to the state, means individuals at a medium or high risk of re-offense – from living within 500 feet of a public park that has playground. The legislation, Goldfeder said, would close the offender loophole that currently exists and ensure that all parks where children commonly play remain off limits to those convicted of sex crimes.

Current state regulations restrict sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of parks that are attached to school buildings, but no regulation exists for parks that are not aligned with schools.

The legislation comes on the heels of Rockaway parents being outraged last month upon learning two convicted sex offenders moved into the same building on Beach 116th Street – which is situated further than 1,000 feet from the nearest school but is within a few hundred feet of the beach and public parks.

“On behalf of Rockaway parents, I applaud Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder for his quick action and response to our genuine concerns about the safety and wellbeing of our children,” said Irene Dougherty, Parent Teacher Association co-president of the belle Harbor School.

Dorothy McCloskey, director of the Friends of Charles Park, too threw her support behind Goldfeder’s legislation.

“As an advocate for the rebuilding and development of Frank Charles Park, as well as a mother and grandmother living in the community, I believe it is not only important to make our parks beautiful, but also to make them safe and secure from adults who prey upon our defenseless children,” McCloskey said.

Goldfeder has sponsored sex offender legislation in the past, including a bill signed in 2012 that requires registered high-level sex offenders to keep their photos for the online offender registry up to date by having their photo taken every 90 days.

“I will fight to ensure our families and children live in a safe community and that parents have the peace of mind they deserve,” Goldfeder said.