Crystal
02-10-2005, 04:47 PM
Officials seek to allay residents' concerns about safety; motel says it won't house worst offenders
By KENNETH C. CROWE II, Staff writer
First published: Thursday, February 10, 2005
MALTA -- The Shamrock Motel's red neon vacancy light blinked again Wednesday after three registered sex offenders moved on and a fourth was hunting for a new place to live.
Supervisor David R. Meager announced to a crowd of more than 150 people at the Malta Community Center that the motel would soon be free of the registered sex offenders. He also summarized a letter from the motel owners that promised that serious sex offenders would no longer be taken in as lodgers.
"It will be the policy of the Shamrock Motel in the future not to accept any level 3 sexual offenders," Meager said at the community meeting. Level 3 offenders are considered to be at the highest risk of breaking the law again.
The sex offenders, all level 3, were lodged at the motel because they came out of state prison without a place to go. Homeless, they qualified for public assistance and were sent to the Shamrock, which is on Route 9, by the county Department of Social Services and the state Division of Parole.
The community center's main auditorium was filled with residents from the 150-home High Pointe development, which is a half-mile north of the community center off Route 9. The town brought in state and Saratoga County officials and law enforcement to explain what was happening and to reassure the residents.
Anthony Ellis, executive director of the Parole Division, said the sex offenders had been sent to the motel in order to easily keep them under supervision and to avoid housing them in lodgings where families with young children were staying.
There are 202 registered sex offenders in the county. Of those, 21 are under direct supervision by parole, Ellis said.
Ellis and county Social Services Commissioner Robert Christopher said they would work to avoid seeing so many registered sex offenders in one spot again.
"I will do everything in my power to avoid having a concentration of sex offenders in any one location. We will be vigilant in the future," Christopher said.
While residents were cheered by some of what was said, they were not comforted by many of the explanations they received about how the state sex offender registry works.
"All of the things you've said do not make me feel better," Gary Nardin said. "Is there a credible reason why these animals who cannot be rehabilitated are in our community?"
Assemblyman Roy J. McDonald, R-Wilton, who represents Malta, suggested Saratoga County build a facility adjacent to the county jail in Milton to house paroled sex offenders.
District Attorney James A. Murphy III said his office will prosecute any sex offender who does not meet the requirements to register when they move, including those who recently left the Shamrock Motel.
"I treat people who don't register very harshly," Murphy said. "We make sure that sex offenders don't slip through the cracks."
At Ellis's suggestion, a county task force will be formed to deal with community concerns about sex offenders. He noted that similar programs have been undertaken in counties in other parts of the state.
Jim Church, a representative of State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, R-Brunswick, said that Malta's experience could serve as an example to support a package of bills the senator plans to introduce soon to deal with sex offenders.
By KENNETH C. CROWE II, Staff writer
First published: Thursday, February 10, 2005
MALTA -- The Shamrock Motel's red neon vacancy light blinked again Wednesday after three registered sex offenders moved on and a fourth was hunting for a new place to live.
Supervisor David R. Meager announced to a crowd of more than 150 people at the Malta Community Center that the motel would soon be free of the registered sex offenders. He also summarized a letter from the motel owners that promised that serious sex offenders would no longer be taken in as lodgers.
"It will be the policy of the Shamrock Motel in the future not to accept any level 3 sexual offenders," Meager said at the community meeting. Level 3 offenders are considered to be at the highest risk of breaking the law again.
The sex offenders, all level 3, were lodged at the motel because they came out of state prison without a place to go. Homeless, they qualified for public assistance and were sent to the Shamrock, which is on Route 9, by the county Department of Social Services and the state Division of Parole.
The community center's main auditorium was filled with residents from the 150-home High Pointe development, which is a half-mile north of the community center off Route 9. The town brought in state and Saratoga County officials and law enforcement to explain what was happening and to reassure the residents.
Anthony Ellis, executive director of the Parole Division, said the sex offenders had been sent to the motel in order to easily keep them under supervision and to avoid housing them in lodgings where families with young children were staying.
There are 202 registered sex offenders in the county. Of those, 21 are under direct supervision by parole, Ellis said.
Ellis and county Social Services Commissioner Robert Christopher said they would work to avoid seeing so many registered sex offenders in one spot again.
"I will do everything in my power to avoid having a concentration of sex offenders in any one location. We will be vigilant in the future," Christopher said.
While residents were cheered by some of what was said, they were not comforted by many of the explanations they received about how the state sex offender registry works.
"All of the things you've said do not make me feel better," Gary Nardin said. "Is there a credible reason why these animals who cannot be rehabilitated are in our community?"
Assemblyman Roy J. McDonald, R-Wilton, who represents Malta, suggested Saratoga County build a facility adjacent to the county jail in Milton to house paroled sex offenders.
District Attorney James A. Murphy III said his office will prosecute any sex offender who does not meet the requirements to register when they move, including those who recently left the Shamrock Motel.
"I treat people who don't register very harshly," Murphy said. "We make sure that sex offenders don't slip through the cracks."
At Ellis's suggestion, a county task force will be formed to deal with community concerns about sex offenders. He noted that similar programs have been undertaken in counties in other parts of the state.
Jim Church, a representative of State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, R-Brunswick, said that Malta's experience could serve as an example to support a package of bills the senator plans to introduce soon to deal with sex offenders.