Expands coverage of sex offender registration act

8 Co-sponsors

• David McDonough
• Michael G. Miller
• Daniel Burling
• David Townsend
• Matthew Titone
• Ann Rabbitt
• Gary Finch
• Louis Tobacco

4 Multi-sponsors

• Clifford Crouch
• Dennis H. Gabryszak
• Joseph Giglio
• Andrew Raia

BILL NUMBER:A11169

Title of bill

An act to amend the correction law and the criminal procedure law, in relation to sex offenders

Summary of specific provisions

Section one of the bill amend subdivision one of section 16B--a of the Correction Law to redefine "sex offender" to add any person charged with an offense set forth in subdivisions two or three of section 16B-a and found not responsible by reason of mental disease or defect.

Section two amends subdivision 6 of section 330.20 of the Criminal Procedure Law to require that when a defendant who was charged as a sex offender is found to have a dangerous mental disorder the commitment order must order the defendant to comply with the provisions of the sex offender registry.

Section three amends subdivision 7 of section 330.20 of the Criminal Procedure Law to require that when a defendant who was charged as a sex offender is found to be mentally ill but not dangerous, or not mentally ill the commitment order or conditional release must order the defendant to comply with the provisions of the sex offender registry.

Justification

It is foreseeable that a sex offender who is found not responsible by reason of mental disease or defect could be released by the mental health system after receiving treatment or confinement for a period of time. However, current statute does not require the patient/defendant to register under Megan's Law since he was never found guilty by the criminal justice system.

There is a recent example of this, a particularly brutal sex offender from Poughkeepsie who was found not responsible by reason of mental disease or defect in 1979. After twenty years of confinement in a secure facility, he petitioned a Suffolk County jury for release to a group home. The jury agreed, but the verdict was set aside after an earlier victim stepped forward to reveal details that the patient/defendant had lied about during his treatment. At the very least a defendant like this example should be required to register with the sex offender registry upon release or discharge.

Prior legislative history

2008-2009: A8090 - Referred to Correction 2006-2007: A1188 - Passed Assembly 2004-2005; A966 - Passed in Assembly 2003-2004: A8895 - Referred to Correction

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:; None

Effective date

This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law.