Child porn charges filed against Colonie man Monday, January 21, 2008
COLONIE -- An 18-year-old local man has been charged with downloading and e-mailing child pornography.
State Police on late Monday afternoon announced the arrest of Daniel J. Roach of Danforth Street on charges of promoting an obscene sexual performance by a child and possessing an obscene sexual performance by a child. Authorities allege Roach was using the family's computer between September 2007 until earlier this month to download and e-mail child pornography to others. An investigation into the matter was launched and a search warrant was obtained after State Police said they received a complaint from America On Line about Roach's alleged computer activity. Roach was issued an appearance ticket and is slated to appear in town court on Jan. 30.
Former Johnstown DARE officer arrested on child porn charges Tuesday, January 22, 2008 By Jim McGuire (Contact) Gazette Reporter
JOHNSTOWN — Retired city police officer Warren S. Maas, the department's former DARE officer, has been charged with possessing child pornography on his computer. State police arrested the 55-year-old Maas on Jan. 17 following a seven-month investigation by its Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Computer Crimes Unit, along with the Fulton County District Attorney's office. Investigators said Maas had at least a dozen images on his computer. Maas was arraigned in Mayfield Town Court on one count of possessing a sexual performance by a child, a class E felony punishable by a prison sentence of up to 1-1/3 to 4 years. Bail was set at $3,000 cash or $6,000 bond. He was scheduled to appear again this morning in Johnstown City Court. Maas retired about 11 years ago after serving 20 years with the city police department.
Police say man tried to solicit teen for sex Sunday, January 27, 2008 By Michael Goot (Contact) Gazette Reporter
ALBANY — A Latham man was arrested on Friday after police say he attempted to solicit someone whom he thought was a 13-year-old girl on the Internet. Loudonville Police and the State Police Computer Crimes Unit had been conversing online with 49-year-old Joseph P. Lansing. Lansing allegedly tried to set up a meeting with the girl to engage in sexual conduct with her. Lansing was to meet with the girl at a restaurant on Holland Avenue in Albany Friday morning, but was met instead by State Police investigators, they said. Lansing was arrested and charged with attempted dissemination of indecent material to a minor and attempted endangering the welfare of a child. He was arraigned and sent to the Albany County Jail in lieu of $10,000 bail. He is scheduled to return to court on Wednesday.
Proposed state law would register sex offenders’ online identities BY VALERIE BAUMAN The Associated Press
New York officials want sex offenders to provide their Internet identities to the state, which would then share the information with social networking sites like MySpace to protect users from online predators, according to a law proposed Tuesday. The legislation written by Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s office was designed as the next generation of “Megan’s Law,” which created New York’s sex offender registry in 1996. Under the “Electronic Security and Targeting of Online Predators Act,” or e-STOP, sex offenders would have to report their online information to the state Division of Criminal Justice Services. That includes all e-mail addresses, chat and instant messaging names and online social networking identities. State corrections law already requires offenders to provide Internet screen names, but the new legislation would clarify and expand the information they must supply and permit sharing it with social networking sites and other online services. That would allow the sites to screen or remove offenders from their sites and notify authorities about any illegal behavior. If offenders don’t report changes in their online identities within 10 days, they could be charged with a felony. Cuomo — who announced the bill with the support of Republican Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno and Democratic Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver — said he started working on the issue after lengthy discussions with MySpace. com and Facebook.com. As the state urged the sites to make changes to protect children and teens, the sites found it difficult to act without legislation in place. “You can’t say to MySpace and Facebook, ‘it’s not illegal, but I want you to stop it,’ ” Cuomo said. “Our laws need to keep up with the times,” said Hemanshu Nigam, chief security officer for MySpace. “We keep a watchful eye on predators who leave jails and prisons in our physical world. “If we fail to do so in our online world, we unwittingly provide an advantage to these predators, an advantage that they can and will exploit.” The bill applies to all sex offenders. But additional parole and probation mandates would be applied for Level 3 sex offenders — considered the most likely to offend again — those who have committed crimes against minors and offenders who used the Internet to find victims. While on parole, they could not use social networking sites, access pornography, communicate with minors online or communicate with anyone for the purpose of sexually abusing children. This bill would make New York the first in the nation to make those restrictions mandatory, said John Milgrim, a spokesman for the attorney general’s office. It would not apply to sex offenders who live in other states but attempt to contact children or teens in New York. “I was aware of this issue, not as attorney general but as a parent,” Cuomo said. “I pose the classic difficulty: I have three young girls ... they are frankly better on the computer than I am, but there is a certain level of naiveté,” he said. Parole officers would have the authority to check the offenders’ hard drives, but the legislation wouldn’t require tracking of IP addresses, which identify particular computers. The sex offenders would bear most of the responsibility for reporting their online activities, officials said. If passed, the law would be retroactive for all offenders listed in the registry. “It is essential that we restrict the ability of sex offenders to use the Internet to prey on children,” said Gov. Eliot Spitzer in a written statement. “I have asked my staff to review this proposal and to work closely with the Legislature and the attorney general to enact legislation that accomplishes that goal,” he said. At least 13 other states have introduced legislation limiting the online activities of sex offenders. Oklahoma, Louisiana, Kentucky, Arizona, Illinois and Colorado specifically require offenders to provide Internet identities to a state agency or registry system. The federal Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 includes “Internet identifiers” among the information collected on registered sex offenders, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Earlier this month, MySpace. com agreed to take more steps to protect children and teens from online sexual predators and bullies. The hugely popular online hangout agreed to create a task force of industry professionals to improve the safety of users, and other social networking sites will be invited to participate. New York state has nearly 26,000 registered sex offenders, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited children. Nationwide, more than 627,000 people are registered offenders. Hemanshu Nigam, chief security officer for MySpace and Fox Interactive Media, speaks during a news conference in Albany on Tuesday. Attorny General Andrew Cuomo, right, and legislative leaders announced an agreement for a new law that would protect youngsters from predators on social networking sites like MySpace
Parole officers would have the authority to check the offenders’ hard drives, but the legislation wouldn’t require tracking of IP addresses, which identify particular computers.
Computer savvy offenders (or friends of theirs) could probably get all traces of stuff off, right?
Quoted Text
The sex offenders would bear most of the responsibility for reporting their online activities, officials said.
Dear Probation Officer
Below is a log of my online activities.
Monday, between 7 and 8 pm, went to cnn website to read about the elections. About 8 pm I went to check the weather on the weather channel, saw a link about the meteor shower which resulted in my clicking on a website about Haley's comet and from there I wound up visitng a website about the history of the earth. I shut down about 9:30 and went to bed.
Tuesday morning, I forgot what the weather site said and so I forgot my umbrella when I left for work and I got soaked.
Feel free to call me about any other Monday activites you might be interested in.
Sincerely, Local level 3 offender.
YEAH right, I can see them doing that.
Well you get bet the ACLU will be running to NYS trying to put a halt to this legislation
Optimists close their eyes and pretend problems are non existent. Better to have open eyes, see the truths, acknowledge the negatives, and speak up for the people rather than the politicos and their rich cronies.
If these sexual predators are still a threat to society, than they clearly need to be incarcerated for a longer period of time. Instead of posing these ridiculous laws...just start proceeding to change the law on how we handle sex offenders and how long they should remain out of society. Our present laws is obviously NOT working. If it was, then the law makers would not be trying to implement new ones. They are just adding layer upon layer of laws that add to existing ones.
IF THEY ARE A THREAT TO SOCIETY....THEY NEED TO BE INCARCERATED LONGER!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Tracking online predators First published: Friday, February 1, 2008
New York's Megan's Law, enacted in 1996, monitors the whereabouts of convicted sex offenders and alerts neighbors when they are living in their midst. But cyberspace is a different world, one where sex offenders can move about anonymously, using screen names to hide their identities as they prey on unsuspecting minors who visit popular Web sites like MySpace.com and Facebook.com. At least, that's how it is now. Soon, though, it could be a lot harder for predators in New York to prowl online. Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has proposed new restrictions on Internet predators and, in a rare display of bipartisan cooperation, both Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, R-Brunswick, and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, are on board. At the same time, Gov. Eliot Spitzer has asked his staff to work with Mr. Cuomo and legislative leaders to impose new restrictions. While that is welcome news, and all but a guarantee of prompt passage, some critics are dismissing the attorney general's proposed legislation, known as the Electronic Security and Targeting of Online Predators Act, or e-STOP, as window dressing that won't deliver the kind of security it suggests. Granted, it's a lot easier to keep track of where a convicted predator lives, and whether he or she is in close proximity to children, than it is to police the Internet, where a predator can change screen names and e-mail addresses on the spot to avoid detection. But that is no reason to throw up one's hands in despair. The Cuomo proposal, while not foolproof, is worth enacting. It goes beyond the current law that requires sex offenders to report Internet screen names, by requiring a broader range of information, including all e-mail addresses, chat and instant message names and social networking identities. Moreover, e-STOP would make New York the first state in the nation to prohibit level 3 sex offenders, who are considered the most likely to repeat their crimes, from accessing social networking sites or pornography while on parole. Nor would they be allowed to communicate with minors on line. E-STOP has its limitations. The offenders would bear the burden of reporting their Internet information, and face felony charges for failing to cooperate. But there will always be those who will take their chances at not getting caught. And the new law would necessarily be limited to New York, leaving minors here vulnerable to predators out of state. But other states are also pondering similar online laws, and e-STOP could become a model for them. In the end, though, it is up to Congress to pass federal legislation so that no predator will have safe haven. The most compelling reason to support e-STOP is that MySpace.com and Facebook.com need legal authority, and the user's background information, to filter out sex offenders and report their activities to authorities. That's just what e-STOP would do. THE ISSUE:Andrew Cuomo proposes a new law to keep sex offenders off the Internet. THE STAKES: Without tighter monitoring, children will continue to be at risk.
THE ISSUE:Andrew Cuomo proposes a new law to keep sex offenders off the Internet. THE STAKES: Without tighter monitoring, children will continue to be at risk.
what a stupid statement---children always are.....what a waste of $$---isn't it cheaper to lock them up???....we cant afford it? it isn't worth it?....let out the drug dealers-train them and give them jobs at drug companies,,,,then we will have room for the sex offenders......
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
Mechanicville-Stillwater Little League suspends coach charged with having child porn Wednesday, February 6, 2008 By J. Jude Hazard (Contact) Gazette Reporter
MECHANICVILLE — Mechanicville-Stillwater Little League officials moved quickly to suspend a baseball coach who was arrested Monday on child pornography charges. State police charged Gary J. Ryan, 36, of 10 Tenandaho Drive, after they said they found images on his computer of underage children who were naked or partially naked and posed in sexually suggestive positions. Ryan has been involved in the Little League program for more than 20 years, according to the league's president, Jon Simmons. "He's suspended from the league pending the results of the investigation," Simmons said toay. "We have yet to officially notify him of that status, but a letter is in the works as we speak to get him that information." Simmons confirmed that Ryan coached 11- and 12-year-old boys in the league and also supervised the league's umpires. "We as a board and a league are doing everything we can to protect the safety of our children, and that is first and foremost on our minds," Simmons said. "We're still all stunned. Something like this is never good." Ryan was freed on bail late Monday, according to jail officials. "Gary's been associated with the league for 20 years, and there was no indication that anything like this could or would occur," Simmons said. "I was shocked." Ryan is also a member of the city Democratic Committee, Mayor Anthony Sylvester said. "I would assume that he'll be at least put on suspension," Sylvester said. "I'm heartbroken that we're going to lose someone like this." Sylvester added that Ryan is also on the city Planning Board and has served as a firefighter and emergency medical technician. Ryan is charged with possessing a sexual performance by a child, a class E felony. He is due back in City Court next Wednesday.
It really has nothing to do with being less educated or rich or poor.....tittlation is tittlation,,,,it has more to do with power and youth.....Just ask Mr.Heffner with his 'barely legal' live ins.....They are someone's daughter too......deviant behavior is what society calls deviant behavior.....right now MTV and the mainstreaming of porn has the legal begals scrambling to find the plumb line.....what is a sex offender??? what is offensive to society these days??? not much if you ask me......after free love, Seinfeld, simpsons, family guy,,,where do we go???
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
SCHENECTADY Convict facing child porn charges Man accused of abusing 6-year-old BY STEVEN COOK Gazette Reporter Reach Gazette reporter Steven Cook at 395-3122 or scook@dailygazette.com.
A convicted sex offender arrested last month on charges of sexually abusing a 6-year-old child now faces federal counts of producing child pornography. Steven Ahders, 29, of Brandywine Avenue, was indicted by a federal grand jury this week on two counts of producing and possessing images of child pornography. Ahders was first arrested last month. Authorities accused him of abusing the child between September 2006 and June 2007. Authorities then said Ahders admitted to taking photographs of the child, but authorities had yet to find them. Those images were apparently found on Ahders’ cellphone, a Sprint Treo PDA device, according to the federal indictment. If convicted on the counts, he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years in federal prison, officials said. The federal charges are expected to be prosecuted alongside state charges in Schenectady County Court. Ahders faces a state count of predatory sexual assault against a child, a felony that carries a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in state prison if convicted. Ahders knew the child after meeting the child’s mother through personal ads two years ago, Assistant Schenectady County District Attorney Andra Ackerman said previously. The child disclosed the abuse late last year, Ackerman said, describing it as “horrific” and “the worst of the worst.” Ahders was listed on the state sex offender registry as a Level 1 offender, which is considered the lowest risk of reoffending. Ahders previously served federal prison time related to a 2001 conviction on a child pornography possession count. He admitted then to using his home computer to trade nude images of children and other people and advertised the service in an Internet chat room. Ahders remained in the Schenectady County Jail without bail on Thursday.
you got that right Rene---he was invited to live there--it's like inviting a vampire into your home and then wondering why the 'holy water' and garlic doesn't work---it's not AFTER that folks are concerned about, it's the original punishment and deterent that gets me......
Playboy, MTV and reality shows have raised the bar as to what is not sexually offensive in general society....now our brave courageous legislators(who want a raise-no pun intended) need to know what to do with the so called boudaries for those that are integrity challenged and maybe a little obtunded.......
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
SCHENECTADY COUNTY Task force on sex offender laws stalls Panel set up after public outcry over strengthening restrictions BY MICHAEL LAMENDOLA Gazette Reporter
After a burst of political energy over strengthening sex-offender restrictions and monitoring last summer, the Schenectady County initiative has gone dormant, several officials report. Formed last August, the Schenectady County Council to Prevent Sex Offenses had 90 days, or by mid-November, to issue a report. The task force, which met once in October, missed the deadline. Task force member Jeff Parry said he “will be surprised if the task force meets again. County legislators put this in as a sop to those who thought they should have been more aggressive, and it has kind of gone away.” Schenectady County Attorney Chris Gardner, who chairs the task force, said he expects members to begin meeting again this year. He said there was difficulty in coordinating schedules of all 30 members and that meetings were affected by holidays and the November election. He added that the 90-day deadline contained in the legislation was unrealistic, given the complex mandate the group received. The county Legislature formed the task force following a public outcry over passage of a law limiting where sex offenders could live. The law prevents Levels 1 and 2 convicted sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of facilities that cater to children. Town supervisors said the law would force sex offenders underground or out of the city and into their communities. The county Legislature directed the task force to develop at least 14 local laws. The laws would establish notifi - cation policies when sex offenders move into neighborhoods; would establish a sex offender joint enforcement team to prevent recidivism and confirm residencies of sex offenders; and would establish a review board to issue waivers to sex offenders, among other objectives. The Legislature would then have 30 days to present the task force’s recommendations before a public hearing and vote to make each a local law. Parry said he joined the task force to enhance protection from sex offenders. He got involved in the task force as a founder of SNAP, Scotia Neighbors Against Predators. SNAP formed after a Scotia resident took in a Level 3 sex offender as a long-term guest; the offender has since left the neighborhood, he said. The task force, Parry said, quickly discovered it “opened a can of worms and that the county Legislature is not the best entity to deal with these problems, that the state should deal with them. The task force’s decision was to let this go away.” Parry said, “A lot of solutions to make neighborhoods safer would take a lot of money and there isn’t the political will to follow up on the items.” He said he is disappointed that the task force did not follow through. “It would have been healthy to examine the different possible actions that could be taken, even if the decision was no effective action could be taken,” Parry said. Rene Merrihew, Republican supervisor of the town of Duanesburg and a task force member, said she thinks the task force was “smoke and mirrors, and I don’t expect anything to happen. That’s my guess.” Merrihew said some task force members “would be very useful in accomplishing some of the tasks put forth, but I do not see how they are taking it seriously by not having any meetings in a ve-month ” Glenville Supervisor Frank Quinn, a Democrat and another task force member, called the group defunct. “I haven’t seen hide nor hair of it since the elections,” he said. Quinn said, “Other than we have legislation, I haven’t seen any of the things at least town supervisors were interested in seeing addressed.” Supervisors are concerned the county legislation limiting where sex offenders may live pushes sex offenders from the city and into the suburbs, Quinn said. He said supervisors, who signed a letter protesting the legislation, believe the county Legislature did not do adequate research before acting. “They have gone down a narrow road saying they shouldn’t live in a certain place. Statistical data does not support that residency restrictions reduce recividism and sex crimes,” Quinn said. As part of the same legislation that established the task force, the county directed the county sheriff’s department to create a new position. The position would develop methods for intercepting and catching online sex predators. Sheriff Harry Buffardi said the county’s 2008 budget contains money for the position, but he has yet to fill it. “The position requires special training,” he said. He expects the employee to also monitor sex offenders in the county, ensuring that they remain out of exclusion zones and are registered with the state. Reach Gazette reporter Michael Lamendola at 395-3114 or lamend@dailygazette.com.
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