NY State Assembly advances plan to keep sex predators registered

Daily Record (Rochester, NY), Jan 11, 2006 by Daily Record Staff

On Monday, Jan. 9, the New York State Assembly acted on legislation (A.9082) that would stop sex offenders from being removed from the state registry.

However, measures winding their way through U.S. Congress would require New York - and potentially every other state - to revise the state's Sex Offender Registries completely. As a result, even with the Assembly's adoption of proposals to rewrite the state's Sex Offender Registration Act, known as Megan's Law, that legislation would likely be rendered obsolete by the enactment of a new federal law.

The House already has passed legislation establishing a national standard for how state Megan's Laws must be structured (H.R. 3132, The Children's Safety Act of 2005). U.S. Senator Charles Schumer is also sponsoring similar legislation in the Senate to end the state- by-state disparity in registration and notification procedures (S.1086).

Currently, the length of registration for sex offenders under New York law depends on a risk level assigned by the court (whether the offender is at low risk, moderate risk or high risk of re-offense). HR 3132 would abolish the risk level concept nationwide and instead require a 20-year or lifetime registration, based on an offender's crime of conviction and criminal history.

The federal bill would also change the rules throughout the nation regarding community notification, verification and registration processes. Once enacted, all jurisdictions would need to come into compliance with this federal law in order to maintain full eligibility for certain federal crime-fighting funds.

Civil Commitment Bill Introduced

In addition, a major piece of the Assembly's Child Safety and Sexual Predator Punishment and Confinement Strategy was recently introduced. A new bill provides for potential lifetime civil commitment of sexual predators after they finish their prison sentences, if a jury decides they are sex predators likely to repeat their crimes.

Sex offenders whose sentences were completed would be eligible for civil commitment if they had been convicted of a felony sex offense or convicted of any murder, manslaughter or kidnapping crime committed in conjunction with a sexual offense felony or misdemeanor that was sexually motivated.

Under the Assembly's civil commitment process, an initial screening would be conducted by the state Office of Mental Health (OMH), which would forward commitment recommendations to the state attorney general. The attorney general would have to consult with the original prosecutor in the case and a panel of sex offender management and treatment experts before determining whether or not to bring a civil commitment petition.

Indigent offenders would be provided with counsel, and the court would conduct a probable cause hearing and appoint two independent psychiatrists to evaluate the offender. Offenders would be subject to civil commitment if they are determined to be sexual predators by a jury beyond a reasonable doubt. The statute would require strict separation of sexual predators from persons with mental disabilities who were housed in mental hygiene facilities.

The status of confined predators would be reviewed annually by the courts. Additionally, offenders not subject to civil confinement could be subject to intensive supervision for life. Offenders who violated their supervision terms could then be subject to civil confinement.

The Assembly's civil commitment bill would require the state Dept. of Correctional Services (DOCS) to establish treatment programs operated by OMH for all sex offenders.

Other elements of the Assembly's Child Safety and Sexual Predator Punishment and Confinement Strategy provide for longer prison sentences, including up to life sentences for the most heinous sex crimes; mandatory treatment for incarcerated sex offenders; and enhanced services for victims of sexual assault.

Additional measures in the Assembly sex offender package include legislation aimed at halting sex crimes through awareness, enhanced training and preventative measures. The Sexual Abuse Prevention Act (A.8294) mandates Internet providers give subscribers notice of filtering devices to protect children from harmful material; improves training for police officers investigating sexual assault cases; creates a training curriculum for child protective service workers to be used in investigating sexual abuse; and provides for a toll-free hotline to connect sexual assault victims with a rape crisis center in their area.

Other bills would help schools teach children to protect themselves from sexual assault and abuse (A.8415) and make training videos to help parents protect their children available at public libraries and police precincts (A.9148).

Under the bill (A.8939-A), Class B felonies of first degree rape, first degree criminal sexual act, first degree aggravated sexual abuse and first degree course of sexual conduct against a child would be elevated to a newly-created crime of Class A-II felony, carrying a prison term of 10 to 25 years to life. Additional provisions would provide for the life sentences for child sex offenders in cases in which the victim was under the age of 13 and the defendant was 18 years old or older.