Larkin Youth Sex Offender Bill Passes Senate

Senator Bill Larkin (R-C, Cornwall-on-Hudson) today announced that legislation he sponsored to require 13, 14, and 15-year-olds convicted of violent sex offenses to register on the New York state Sex Offender Registry has passed the Senate.

The bill (S.2345-A) would require anyone 13 or older who is adjudicated as a juvenile delinquent, juvenile offender, or youthful offender for sex offenses to register as a sex offender.

"No matter what the age, even young teens who have been convicted of violent sexual crimes are still a potential danger to the community they are released back into," said Senator Larkin. "There should be no age distinction in law when it comes to documentation on the Sexual Offender Registry. As far as I’m concerned, these individuals have committed some of the most detestable crimes there are. The communities into which they are released have every right to be notified--even if that violent sex offender is only 13-years-old."

New York State law currently requires individuals age 16 or older who have committed sexually violent offenses to register as sexual offenders.

The bill has been sent to the Assembly.