Recently, the Legislature and governor came together to create
a civil commitment law in New York (Ch. 7 of 2007). This new law
will help keep the most dangerous sexual predators off our
streets even after they finish their prison terms. The new
law:
Empowers the Attorney General to seek civil commitment of sex offenders determined to suffer from a mental abnormality
Requires treatments to reduce recidivism
Reviews civil confinement status annually by the courts
Additionally, the law toughens penalties for sex offenders by:
Eliminating the option of parole for felony sex offenses
Providing long-term, post-release supervision for those convicted of sex felonies
Moving five crimes into the "violent crime" category, including 2nd degree rape and 4th degree aggravated sexual abuse
Creating the crime of "Sexually Motivated Felony" in cases where certain other crimes, like burglary or robbery, are committed for the sexual gratification of the perpetrator
Assemblyman Cusick recognizes that even with civil commitment we need tougher laws to prevent sex crimes and punish those who commit these monstrous acts. That’s why he supports measures to crack down on sex predators who target children, including:
Creating a new felony crime of "luring" a child under the age of 14 for the purpose of committing a violent crime (A.1668, passed Assembly)
Creating criminal penalties for the dissemination of descriptions of nudity to children to solicit the child through the Internet - closing a loophole in current law (Ch. 8 of 2007)
Other tough sex offender legislation Assemblyman Cusick is sponsoring includes:
Requiring police officers to visit the residence of any sex offender who failed to file a required verification form and obtain a signed form from the offender (A.1179, passed Assembly)
Requiring the electronic monitoring or global positioning (GPS) tracking of Level 3 sex offenders whose crimes involved minors (A.3581)
