Nassau News

Read the Print Version of this Article Below

Since the passing of Megan’s Law in 1996, sex offenders are required to register within the town they reside in.

According to one of many sex-offender registry sites, familywatchdog.us, there are 40 sex offenders living in the town of Hempstead . After entering different towns on Long Island into familywatchdog.us it was a pattern that the towns that had the most sex offenders were high crime, low-income areas such as Hempstead. It was also common that most of the sex offenders were located near schools, parks, and playgrounds

Since there is such a large number of offenders living in a concentrated area and since the likelihood of sex offenders repeating the act increases each year after they are released, Nassau County legislators have been passing laws to deal with the situation.

Nassau County Legislator Kevan Abrahams who is responsible for passing a law to restrict sex offenders from living near schools, parks, and playgrounds said, “We truly felt that this law would possibly be taking away the opportunity for sex offenders to be living within an eyeshot of kids walking to and from schools.”

Schools and parks aren’t the only places a sex offender can approach a potential victim. Many offenders use the Internet. In order to make sure that sex offenders are not visiting any inappropriate sites, Nassau County legislators have recently passed a law that allows the installation of software to be put in their computers that tracks any online activity. Nassau County legislator David Mejias, who is one of the sponsors of the bill said, “We want to make sure that the same technology that they are using is being used against them.”

In order to find out where sex offenders are located in your area, go to familywatchdog.us and enter the town, state and zip code and a list of all registered sex offenders in that area will appear.

For full interview with Nassau County legislator Kevan Abrahams click on the embedded player below. For full transcription of this interview click here

For full interview with Nassau County legislator David Mejias click on the embedded player below. For full transcription of this interview click here

To view full interview with Hofstra University student Lisa Perelli, click on the embedded player below. For transcription of this interview click here

Related Links

• The U.S Department of Justice gives statistics about the average age of a victims of a sexual offender.
  
• Fox news writes article about a bill being introduced to create a national sex offender database.
  
• The Wall Street Journal addresses the issue of how likely it is that sex offenders repeat their crime once released from prison.
  
• Assemblyman Adam Bradley introduces the new legislation passed to crack down on Sex Offenders.
  
• Nassau County Legislator David Mejias passed legislation which allows the installation of software in sex offenders computers to track their activity online to make sure they do not visit inappropriate sites.
  
• Nassau County Legislator Kevan Abrahams proposed a law that restricts sex offenders from living within a certain distance of schools, playgrounds and parks.
• Criminal justice Services explains the different levels of sex offenders and various safety programs to prevent children from being a victim of a sex offender.
  
• Parents for Megan’s law is dedicated to prevent and treat sexual abuse of children. They provides hotlines and counseling for victims of sexual abuse.
  
• City-date provides statistics for the town of Hempstead including average household income, crime rates and sex offenders in the area.
  
• When a convicted sex offender is released it is questionable if he/she will commit the act again especially since most of them tend to live near schools playgrounds and parks.
  
• All information about sex offenders in the are you live in can be accessed by just typing in your town name and zip code.