Sex Offenders Present in the North Country

Local grassroots efforts establish ways to treat sex offenders.

Story and photos by Eric Rushia

They are rapists, child molesters, and perverts and they are living next door to you. They are the hit of a national television show, Dateline NBC, which lures would-be online predators into precarious situations where they admit they have a problem and need help.

"People lump all sex offenders and sex offenses in one category and you can not have a discussion like that. It is both a complicated issue and a multi-faceted process," said Illene Leshinsky, Clinton County Mental Health Clinic Coordinator.

Fear and paranoia are some of the emotions sexual offenders prey on. Children are not looking for trouble. What they are looking for, actually, is a friendship, whether that person is a stranger to them or a family relative. It happens everywhere. Sexual predators lurk around schools, playgrounds, and other places where children frequently hang out. Parents should know who their children are with, who they talk to online, and where they are after school.

"It is a both a complicated issue and a multifaceted process."

"As with any group of people, the community [should] work very hard [to] not [prejudge] because of a label," Leshinsky said. As a community, we could do a better job at keeping children safe, in general, according to Leshinsky.

While the motivation behind a sexual offender is unknown, the number of sexual offenders and their whereabouts can be found on the National Registry of Sexual Offenders (NRSO). Many convicted sex offenders evade registering by never staying in one town for very long. Other sex offenders use a number of different aliases, which is why a person's name appears on the registry multiple times. With strict laws prohibiting where sex offenders can live, work, and even drive, many simply don't register.

Due to the close proximity of Dannemora prison, many released sex offenders are heading toward nearby Plattsburgh, while others are settling in smaller towns, scattering themselves across Franklin, Essex, and Clinton counties.

According to the New York State Division of Criminal Justice, there are currently 161 registered sex offenders in Clinton County, 73 in Essex County, and 149 in Franklin County. There are approximately 23,867 registered sex offenders across New York State, with more than 7,000 assumed unregistered.

Nation-wide, there are 550,000 registered sex offenders with thousands unregistered. Many parents are concerned their children's safety is at risk, if a sexual offender moved next door or elsewhere in the neighborhood. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, convicted sex offenders are four times more likely to be re-arrested than other criminals.

"Historically, we have sex offender treatment groups that are curriculum based, that work on creating empathy towards the victim, and relapse prevention. People who undergo treatment are only those who have been charged and plead guilty to the crime," Leshinsky said. "Depending on the rate of group progression, it takes anywhere from 52 to 62 weeks to complete treatment, but we also work at treating each person individually."

After the federal government's passing of "Megan's Law," all 50 states began to force all convicted sex offenders to face even more restrictions on where they can live, work, and hang-out. Megan Kanka, a 7-year-old girl, had been raped and murdered by a New Jersey man who already had two prior convictions. State-by-state disparities tracking and treating sex offenders has forced reforms. Most states make their database available online, now. According to "Jessica's Law," registered sexual offenders are no longer allowed to be within 1,000 feet of any public schools.

With social networking sites like myspace.com easily accessible for both children and sexual predators, state legislators believe sexual offenders should be required, by law, to submit their email address and other instant messaging names to the national registry. Myspace.com has just started to allow governmental agencies; such as, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, to use their sex offender database, which contains names from all states.

"Depending on the rate of group progression, it takes anywhere from 52 to 62 weeks to complete treatment, but we also work at treating each person individually."

With a spill-over effect due to recently released offenders from the maximum security prison in Clinton Correctional, the debate over banning them from being anywhere near children is intensifying, and has made people appear defensive and resistant to lessening sex offender registry qualifications.

For many sexual offenders, rehabilitation remains a difficult obstacle in overcoming what some consider a disease comparable to alcoholism. The problem most sexual offenders have is the inability to live a normal life after being incarcerated in prison for so many years. No one can argue that sexual offenders shouldn't be tracked after serving their time in prison. The way to go about accomplishing these goals is hard, especially when some somewhat inevitably fall through the cracks.

Should all sex offenders be required to register on a national list?

Sexual Offenders Breakdown
County:	Clinton	Franklin	Essex
Level-1	43	37	28
Level-2	78	50	33
Level-3	37	55	7
Totals:	161	149	73

Sexual Offenders in New York State
Level-1	8,786
Level-2	9,026
Level-3	6,055
Totals:	23,867

Fact Or Myth?

Level 2 and level 3 sex offenders remain on the national registry for life.

FACT: Level-1 offenders have a 20-year limit on the national registry. A level 1 sex offender is someone who commits statutory rape.

Also, Sex offenders are people who have a felony conviction associated with anyone under 18 years old. If prison time is served, he or she has to register as a sex offender upon release and must update registration every year.

FACT: Most sex crimes are based on a case-to-case basis with emphasis on the severity of crime and the number of previous offenses determining what level they may fall in.

Other categories include - whether the victim was a child, if weapons were used, and the sexual offender's response to treatment.