Addabbo joins with Senate colleagues to approve package of bills to protect children and general public from convicted sex offenders

NYS Senator Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr. recently joined with his Senate colleagues to pass 26 pieces of legislation designed to better protect children and members of the general public from convicted sex offenders who are at greatest risk of repeating their horrific and predatory crimes.

“Sex offenses are among the most devastating crimes that can be committed, often leaving victims extremely fearful, humiliated, and in both physical and psychological anguish,” said Addabbo. “While I believe in rehabilitation in some cases, unfortunately the most serious sex offenders have a significantly high rate of recidivism, and may seek out additional victims when released from prison. To protect our kids and others from being sexually assaulted, it makes sense for the state to pursue new measures to better inform the public about these criminals, make sure offenders comply with New York’s Sex Offender Registration law,  and place reasonable restrictions on their employment and living arrangements.”

Among the proposals supported by Addabbo in the 26-bill legislative package were initiatives to:

-- Prevent level 2 and level 3 sex offenders, who are considered the most dangerous and most likely to re-offend, from living within 1,500 feet of their victims (S.968);

-- Prohibit sex offenders from working at facilities where they have door keys or otherwise have unsupervised access to residential living quarters (S.2170);

-- Require that level 2 sex offenders living in the community appear in person at law enforcement agencies once a year, with a current photograph, instead of every three years (S.2638);

-- Provide that home address information about a sex offender who has moved to New York from another state may be released to the public, even while the offender is awaiting official risk-level designation by legal authorities (S.6548);

-- Make people guilty of a class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in prison, if they knowingly harbor, house or employ a sex offender who has failed to register or verify their residence or employment with the State Division of Criminal Justice Services (S.2595); and

-- Prohibit convicted sex offenders from working directly with children, whether in paid or volunteer capacities (S.1635).

Now that the bills have been approved by the State Senate, they have been sent to the State Assembly for consideration.