SCHENECTADY — A city man faces sex charges after police said he assaulted a child. Hector Morales, 24, of 266 Duane Ave., was arrested early Friday on a warrant and charged with predatory sexual assault against a child, sodomy and fi rstdegree rape, all felonies, and acting in a manner that injures a child, a misdemeanor. Police said the alleged incident occurred Sept. 27 at his home.
SCHENECTADY Man admits child sexual assault Sentence to be 20 years to life in prison on felony plea BY STEVEN COOK Gazette Reporter Reach Gazette reporter Steven Cook at 395-3122 or scook@dailygazette.net.
A convicted sex offender accused in January of sexually abusing a 6-year-old child admitted to the crime Friday, officials said. Steven Ahders, 29, pleaded guilty to the high-level felony predatory sexual assault against a child. He is to get 20 years to life in state prison. The plea came after two days of hearings in Schenectady County Court. Ahders admitted to raping the child over 18 months in Schenectady. He had been accused of even tying the boy up and blindfolding him during the acts. The boy and his family were relieved Friday. “He’s ready to move forward,” prosecutor Michele Schettino said. “They’re relieved he did not have to testify and face the defendant in court.” “Hopefully he can learn to trust and get a little of his innocence back, what the defendant took from him,” Schettino said. Ahders was first arrested in January. Authorities accused him of abusing the child between September 2006 and June 2007. At the hearings this week, there were even allegations he abused two other children who had stayed overnight with the initial child. Ahders knew the child after meeting the child’s mother through personal ads two years earlier, prosecutors said. Authorities then said Ahders also admitted to taking photographs of the child. Those images were later found on Ahders‘ cellphone, a Sprint Treo PDA device. They were also the basis for a federal indictment that remains pending against Ahders, one where he faces a minimum of 25 years in prison if convicted. He has already been through the federal system. 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 was represented Friday by attorney Kent Gebert. Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 5. Ahders had been listed on the state sex offender registry as a Level 1 offender, which is considered the lowest risk of reoffending.
"While Foreign Terrorists were plotting to murder and maim using homemade bombs in Boston, Democrap officials in Washington DC, Albany and here were busy watching ME and other law abiding American Citizens who are gun owners and taxpayers, in an effort to blame the nation's lack of security on US so that they could have a political scapegoat."
Judge rules vs. NY suburb's sex offender law January 24, 2009
NEW CITY, N.Y. - A judge has ruled that New York state laws pre-empt a suburban county's statutes restricting where sex offenders can live.
The ruling on Friday by state Supreme Court Justice William Kelly could affect similar laws throughout the state. Kelly wrote that state law gives local probation officers the right to decide where sex offenders can live.
Rockland's 2007 law prohibited sex offenders from living, working or loitering within 100 feet of schools or other places where children gather.
Kelly's decision would dismiss misdemeanor charges against more than a dozen sex offenders in Rockland.
County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef said that the decision points to the need for the state to establish criteria for housing sex offenders.
The county has 30 days to appeal Kelly's decision.
I guess this includes schenectady county's (Kosiur's) sex offender law.
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
Carl Strock THE VIEW FROM HERE Carl Strock can be reached at 395-3085 or by e-mail at carlstrock@dailygazette.com. Sex-offender restrictions: the latest
An update on sex-offender residency laws, for you connoisseurs of this social phenomenon: A state Supreme Court judge recently threw out the Rockland County law, which barred registered sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of a school, park, public swimming pool, etc., thus putting in doubt the validity of at least 80 similar laws across New York. In response the state Senate is proposing a law that would impose such residency restrictions statewide, thus leapfrogging the judicial branch, for which the new Senate majority leader, Malcolm Smith, quickly averred he has the “utmost respect.” Actually the court decision against Rockland County was based on the fact that the state already has a comprehensive law, known as Megan’s Law and its additions, regulating the lives of convicted sex offenders, including restrictions on where they may live. The court found that the state thus “occupied the field” and “preempted” local jurisdictions in this matter — not that the local laws were silly or ineffective. But apparently the existing state law is not tough enough for Senate leaders. It applies only to the highest level of sex offenders and only to those whose victims were children. Local laws, including the one adopted in 2007 by Rockland County, typically apply to all convicted sex offenders regardless of the gravity of their offenses and regardless of the age of their victims. Schenectady County has such a law, and so do Saratoga, Albany, and Rensselaer counties, in this immediate area, as well as some towns and cities. They were a very popular thing to do a year or two ago, and localities seemed to compete with each other to see who could be tougher. “I’ll see your thousand feet and raise you a thousand,” was the way it was played. “I’ll see your playground and raise you a swimming pool.” Pretty soon some doofus who had diddled his cousin years ago when he was a teenager couldn’t find a place to live in any populated area at all, which was perfectly fi ne with the elected officials who were passing these laws. The more irrational they became, the better they liked it. It showed how determined they were to protect children. The Senate’s proposal — S1300, if you want to look it up — would also apply to all sex offenders regardless of the gravity of their offense and regardless of the age of their victim, but it would confi ne the off-limits areas to schools, daycare centers and parks, it would set the off-limits boundaries at 1,000 feet (Schenectady went for 2,000), and it would end the restrictions after 10 years or when the outcast’s parole ended, whichever was longer, as opposed to the local laws, which applied forever. In other words, still nutty, but not as nutty as the locals. How does the court decision in Rockland County affect the laws in Schenectady and other localities? Immediately and directly, it doesn’t. It applies only to that one law in that one county. But longer term and indirectly it probably does, since it gives other courts something to hang their hat on when challenges come before them. “It’s a very good decision on preemption,” said Kathy Manley, an Albany lawyer who has lawsuits hanging fire in Albany, Rensselaer and Washington counties challenging residency laws. Especially, she said, when taken together with a statement by Gov. David Paterson a few months ago declaring the management of sex offenders to be a state matter. But, she pointed out, it doesn’t address her argument that residency restrictions are unlawful because they amount to additional punishment. So even if the Rockland County decision stands, this matter won’t go away. One law or another will still require that persons once convicted of sex offenses will not be able to live within some distance of schools and parks despite the lack of evidence that such restrictions have any bearing on the commission of further sex crimes. It’s well known that the great majority of sex crimes against children are committed by friends and family members, not by strangers lurking around playgrounds. No one has shown that where a person lives has anything to do with these crimes. It’s a fantasy entertained by anxious parents and cultivated by cynical politicians that “predators” lurk behind the shrubbery at the local day-care center. It’s also a fantasy — or an outand-out lie — that sex offenders have a recidivism rate higher than that of other criminals. Most studies have shown that in fact they repeat their crimes at a lower rate than other types of criminals. The Rockland County law, grandly titled “the Rockland County pedophile-free child safety zone act,” was based on an alleged finding by the county legislature that “due to the recidivism rate” of sex offenders, “there exists a heightened potential for reoccurence of their crimes” when they live near schools and swimming pools, but it was just eyewash. Rockland County could theoretically appeal the decision against it, but the county attorney, who did not return my call to discuss this .........................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....amp;EntityId=Ar00900
Sex offender residency case tossed Albany City Court judge acts to dismiss charge by ruling state authority overrides county law
By JORDAN CARLEO-EVANGELIST, Staff writer First published in print: Friday, February 20, 2009
ALBANY A City Court judge has dismissed a charge against a convicted sex offender accused of violating a county law that limits where sex offenders can live, ruling the county's law usurps state authority.
The decision this week by Judge Thomas K. Keefe runs counter to one by his colleague, Judge Rachel Kretser, last summer and would seem to deepen the legal uncertainty surrounding more than 80 similar laws that have popped up across the state.
A constitutional challenge to the Local Law No. 8 of 2006 is pending in state Supreme Court. On Jan. 22, a judge struck down a nearly identical measure in Rockland County for the same reasons as Keefe.
Keefe's decision cites the Rockland case and echoes that judge's view that the state has already made clear its intent to regulate where sex offenders can live.
The decision also refers to efforts in Colonie to evaluate whether the town should pass its own law to prevent clustering of sex offenders in motels.
Albany County's law bans Level 2 and 3 sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of schools and day-care facilities. It was under that statute that John Blair was charged last May. His attorney, Assistant Public Defender Julianne Girard, moved to dismiss the misdemeanor on the grounds that the county law is pre-empted by state authority. Keefe agreed.
Last July, Kretser upheld the charges against four men in a similar situation to Blair, finding the county law "has not been preempted by the New York law, either expressly or by implication."
The conflicting decisions from the same court could send mixed messages to city police.
Attorney Terence Kindlon, whose firm is suing the county pro bono, said he believes it would be "more intelligent than not to refrain from prosecuting these cases."
"I don't think the police are going to be playing judicial roulette here in an effort to convict half of the people all of the time," Kindlon said.
ALBANY A City Court judge has dismissed a charge against a convicted sex offender accused of violating a county law that limits where sex offenders can live, ruling the county's law usurps state authority.
So I guess that Kosiur lost his election over a law that is actually unconstitutional.
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
ROTTERDAM — A 74-year-old man has been charged with sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl, according to Rotterdam police. Paul G. Reckner Sr. of Clifton Park remains jailed on one count of first-degree rape for allegedly having sexual relations with the girl in Rotterdam several times as far back as November, Lt. Michael Brown said.
Reckner, who is being held at Saratoga County Jail without bail, was arrested after the girl's parents reported the alleged incident to police. The man is scheduled to be arraigned in Rotterdam Town Court on Feb. 26. The investigation was handled jointly by Rotterdam Police, the Schenectady County District Attorney and the Saratoga County Sheriff's Department.
"While Foreign Terrorists were plotting to murder and maim using homemade bombs in Boston, Democrap officials in Washington DC, Albany and here were busy watching ME and other law abiding American Citizens who are gun owners and taxpayers, in an effort to blame the nation's lack of security on US so that they could have a political scapegoat."
SCUMBAG!!! And this is another example of why it doesn't matter WHERE they live. They are preditors plain and simple!
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
Yield law to state Albany County advised state sex offender limits supersedes local efforts
By CAROL DeMARE, Staff writer First published in print: Saturday, February 28, 2009
ALBANY — County officials should concede that a two-year-old law restricting where sex offenders can live is pre-empted by state law and should be removed from the books, an attorney hired to defend the local law has advised.
Thomas O'Connor made the recommendation in response to a legal challenge to the Albany County law that prohibits Level 2 and 3 sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of schools, day care centers and playgrounds.
In October 2007, Albany attorney Terence Kindlon sued on behalf of sex offenders who had difficulty finding a place to live.
O'Connor said his research showed the county law conflicts with the New York statute governing sex offender residency. The state has shown "an unambiguous intent to assume exclusive regulatory responsibility in this area," the attorney wrote in an 11-page report obtained by the Times Union.
The attorney recommended the county sign a consent decree declaring that Local Law No. 8 is pre-empted by state legislation. He added that the decree would not "constitute an admission of liability or any wrongdoing" by the defendants — Albany County and District Attorney David Soares — and the decree cannot be used against them in future litigation. He declined comment Friday.
Kindlon was not seeking damages for his clients, just a ruling from state Supreme Court Justice Roger McDonough that the law is invalid. The judge would have to approve any consent decree.
When county lawmakers passed the law in July 2006, the sponsors hailed it as necessary to protect children. Democrat Daniel McCoy, realizing a convicted sex offender lived near the school his children attended, and others argued the state did not go far enough because its 1,000-foot requirement applied only to those on parole or probation. The county measure covers all registered sex offenders.
McCoy doesn't like O'Connor's recommendation and wants the issue decided in court. "The state hasn't gotten together ... to come up with a better law ... and until they do, we need to uphold our county law to protect our citizens," he said.
Christine Benedict, the legislature's Republican minority leader, agrees with McCoy. Her district in Colonie includes a row of Central Avenue motels where convicted sex offenders are housed.
Benedict met with the GOP's attorney Thomas Marcelle, who didn't think the county law was preempted, she said.
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