In January 1996, New York State adopted the Sex Offender Registration Act (SORA). SORA was enacted to protect the citizens of New York State from dangerous sex offenders by requiring sex offenders to register as sex offenders. At the beginning of this year however, hundreds of level one sex offenders have begun to come off the sex offender registry. We, the residents of Broome County, are asking Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Assembly to put these sex offenders back on the registry and prioritize the safety of our children and families by passing and signing Assembly bills A.9532 and A.8503. 

Since January, 14 level one sex offenders have come off the sex offender registry in Broome County, with many more to come if no action is taken. This is extremely serious as these sex offenders are dangerous. Level one sex offenders constitute offenders that engage in sexual contact without consent, they are offenders that consume child pornography, these are not people that we should allow to come off the registry.

It's not a perfect system and sentencing reform is DESPERATELY needed, but sex offender registries are all that we've got right now to deter sex crimes. These registries are a vital tool for our nation's police departments to keep track of these offenders and keep our streets safe. You also have to take plea deals into consideration. Many sex offenders that should be level two or level three offenders are knocked down to level one because of plea deals and bargaining, which is why it’s even more critical that the New York State Assembly pass these pieces of legislation.