Thomas Checci from Staton Island Live and his slimy Op-Ed proposes registering low level registrants for life

This yellow journalist uses an anecdotal example to attempt to promote lifetime public registration of low risk registrants. Furthermore, he is promoting lifetime treatment where it is typically unnecessary; he erroneously assumes all registrants have sex addictions.

This is what happens when Staten Island hires the village idiot to write an OpEd.

https://www.silive.com/news/2019/01/sex-offenders-need-more-supervision-follow-up-programs-commentary.html

Sex offenders need more supervision, follow-up programs (commentary)

By Thomas Checchi | checchi@siadvance.com

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- One of the nearly 400 sex offenders living on Staten Island has done it again, this time for showing a photo of his genitals to his granddaughter.

His prior offense was molesting a 12-year-old girl. He served a state prison term from 2009 until he was paroled in 2011. He went on the New York State Sex Offender Registry as a Level 1 offender.

Even though the mother of this most recent victim made it clear to the Island’s Family Court that her daughter was not to be left alone with her paternal grandparents, and the court acknowledged he was registered sex offender, according to court documents obtained by the Advance. But the young girl was placed there anyway.

Six months later the offender showed her the photo and was arrested again.

While it’s clear the courts and law enforcement agencies that handle cases like this are caught in the complex web of regulations and protocols, a few simple changes would go a long way toward protecting the innocent from predators.

In the case the Advance exposed, following the most recent arrest, a temporary order of protection was issued and the grandfather was released on his own recognizance and is no longer living in the home.

When the grandfather went on the sex offender registry in 2011, he initially was not supposed to have any contact with children under 18 years old unless under the supervision of another adult. But once his supervision ended in 2013, those stipulations ended.

That’s a problem.

That regulation, for the even the lowest level sex offender, must remain in place for good.

Once a sex offender of any level is no longer under any form of supervision, parole or probation, the Sex Offender Registry Act does not say where they can or cannot live. It’s up to specific localities to deal with that through legislation.

Here’s something for Staten Island elected officials to consider: A local law that prohibits a convicted sex offender from living under the same roof as a minor.

MANDATED FOLLOW-UP THERAPY

Like alcoholism or drug addiction, sex offenders act out an anti-social, illegal and destructive behavior that’s part of their mental makeup.

Just as substance abusers enter and remain in recovery by attending therapy and 12-step programs, why can’t sex offenders be mandated to do something similar?

There are groups such as Sex Addicts Anonymous that would be appropriate for people like this grandfather. Why can’t sex offenders be required to attend?

Also, Level 1 offenders are considered “low-risk” of re-offending, and in New York, their names cannot be seen on the public registry. Instead, you have to call a hotline to confirm they are on it.

Level 1 offenders should be on the public registry along with those at Levels 2 and 3. Simple.

Once sex offenders are off supervision, local police agencies step in to monitor offenders to ensure they are in compliance with the law.

But the registry only serves as a source of information to make the public aware of offenders and has no role in actually monitoring them.

Ongoing monitoring and a required treatment program of some kind could prevent someone like this grandfather from committing a sex offense again.

For progress to be made, the courts, the Administration for Children’s Services, the Sex Offender Registry and other agencies involved must coordinate and reshape their efforts.