McDonough Unveils Sexual Assault Task Force Report
Continues to demand legislative action on measures to protect children and women
Assemblyman David G. McDonough, co-chair of the Assembly Minority SAVE-NY Task Force, is joined by Laura Ahearn, executive director of Parents for Megan’s Law to unveil the legislative proposals resulting from the panel’s statewide hearings.
Assemblyman David G. McDonough (R,C,I-Merrick) and his Assembly minority colleagues traveled the state over the past three years as part of the Assembly Minority Sexual Assault and Violence Education Task Force (SAVE-NY) to gather information at public forums from law enforcement officials, district attorneys, advocacy groups, victims, parents and grandparents. The results from these public forums helped develop strategies to strengthen existing laws, create new and necessary protections, and close existing loopholes that will further protect New York’s children and women from sexual predators.
The SAVE report includes several measures that would strengthen New York’s Sex Offender Registration Act, more commonly known as Megan’s Law, and its Sex Offender Registry. The registry should be expanded to include personal information about all convicted predators and require dissemination of information about Level 2 and 3 sex offenders to the communities in which they live. With these added requirements, parents and community residents would be better able to educate and protect their children from sexual predators.
One topic that surfaced at every public hearing was how to provide law enforcement with the necessary tools to catch and convict sexual predators. The report identifies several areas of concern expressed by prosecutors and police regarding the need to enact laws that strengthen their ability to deal with sexual predators, stated McDonough.
Among the legislative proposals are: establishing the crime of attempting to lure or entice a minor via the Internet; limiting plea bargaining so offenders cannot plead to nonsexual offenses; eliminating the statute of limitations on violent sex crimes; and prohibiting sex offenders from living near schools, day care centers and other facilities where children gather.
These are just a few of the legislative proposals developed from the many SAVE-NY Task Force hearings. If you would like a copy of the SAVE-NY Task Force report, please send me an e-mail at mcdonod@assembly.state.ny.us.