Senator Murphy, Assemblyman Zebrowski Put Sex Offenders On Notice

ALBANY, NY - There are approximately 39,000 registered sex offenders in New York State. More than 800 live in the Hudson Valley. On the average, the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS), which tracks the whereabouts of the offenders, receives 35,000 change of address forms per year from local law enforcement agencies. As reported by the Journal News in November, the loophole in the system is that the majority sex offenders go to their local police departments to fill out the forms rather than registering directly with DCJS, meaning many sex offenders can go unaccounted for days, even weeks at a time.
 
This potentially dangerous loophole will be closed, thanks to a bi-partisan effort sponsored by Republican Senator Terrence Murphy and Democratic Assemblyman Ken Zebrowski.
 
The new legislation, authored by the Hudson Valley Lawmakers, (S3037/A3915), ensures that a change of address for sex offenders filed with a local law enforcement agency is sent to DCJS within five business days. The forms also include details on employment, education, motor vehicle information, internet providers and online identities.
 
"Right now the duty falls on the sex offender to notify the state to keep their address and personal information up to date," said Senator Murphy. "There has been some confusion when a sex offender has reported his or her change of address to a local law enforcement agency and the information has not reached the state level. This new bill will ensure that the sex offender registry is accurate and up to date so residents can be made aware of any offender moving into their neighborhood."
 
"Requiring the quick turnaround of an address change from the law enforcement agency to the State will help us to ensure a more accurate and up-to-date Sex Offender Registry," said Assemblyman Zebrowski. "Without a statutory time frame for local police to follow, that vital information may not be communicated in a timely manner which creates a dangerous gap in information. We must ensure that we are doing everything in our power to protect our children, and that starts with making sure that this registry is as effective as possible."
 
Currently, registered sex offenders are required to notify DCJS within 10 days of changing their address. The offender can either notify DCJS in person or submit a change of address form to a local law enforcement agency. Unfortunately, there is no time specific frame for law enforcement to forward the change of address from to the DCJS.
 
The impetus for the new legislation was the Weinburg case. In 2014, Yona Weinberg, a convicted child molester, fled to Israel. He settled in Har Nor, a home to thousands of children, and ended up suing Rockland-based Rabbi Yakov Horowitz in an effort to keep him from telling people both in the U.S. and Israel about his crimes. Weinburg's lawyer had informed local police that he had moved to Israel, but the DCJS was unaware he had relocated, having never received the information from the police. Weinberg's case prompted the introduction of legislation stateside that was written to further protect children from sex offenders.