E-Stop Legislation And Its Protection Against Online Predators
Southern Tier District Attorneys, State Legislators And Government Leaders Endorse Attorney General Cuomo'S New "E-Stop" Legislation And Its Protections Against Sexual Predators Online ~ Legislation Creates First-in-Nation Ban on Dangerous Sex Predators from Social Networking Sites and Expands Sex Offender Registry to Include Screen Names and Other Internet Identifiers
BINGHAMTON, NY - Southern Tier district attorneys, state lawmakers and government leaders today announced their support for Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's new e-STOP legislation and its protections against sexual predators online.
The Electronic Security and Targeting of Online Predators Act (e-STOP), with bipartisan support in the Senate and Assembly, is the nation's most comprehensive legislation to deal with the threat of sexual predators on the Internet. It also creates the country's first mandatory ban on sexual predators from social networking Web sites.
Attorney General Cuomo said, “Existing laws protecting children from sexual predators have not kept pace with rapid advances in technology.
My e-STOP legislation is critical to help protect children in the Southern Tier and across the state from being victimized by sexual predators using the Internet. It has the potential to save lives. With e-STOP signed into law, New York's children will have the nation's most comprehensive protections against sexual predators on the Internet.”
Broome County Executive Barbara Fiala said, “I want to commend our Attorney General Andrew Cuomo for his pioneering work to protect the residents of New York and especially Broome County from Internet crime.
Andrew Cuomo is modernizing our legislation by integrating today's technology to better guard us and our children from Internet predators.”
Broome County District Attorney Gerald Mollen said, “While laws have been created to protect the innocent from predators, unfortunately, they have not kept up with the challenges posed by advancing technology.
However, that is now changing thanks to Attorney General Cuomo's leadership in protecting children from online predators. I fully endorse the proposed e-STOP legislation. Once enacted, it will be a powerful tool in the fight against sexual predators on the Internet.”
Binghamton Mayor Matt Ryan said, “In recent years, we have been unfortunate witnesses to reports of unspeakable crimes against children by those who prey on the Internet. Attorney General Cuomo's office has been fighting for New Yorkers on this front, including working with sites like MySpace and Facebook to reform practices to protect children.
The Attorney General has now proposed comprehensive legislation that will update the existing statutes regarding the monitoring of sex offenders, as well as a variety of new protections. I strongly support this legislation, and thank Attorney General Cuomo as well as the members of the Legislature for moving forward with this important legislation.”
Assemblymember Donna Lupardo, a co-sponsor of the e-STOP legislation, said, “I applaud Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's efforts to restrict the online activity of convicted sex offenders. Given the anonymity of the Internet, we must do all we can to protect our society's most vulnerable from online predators.”
Assemblymember Clifford W. Crouch said, “I applaud Attorney General Cuomo's leadership on this issue. In an age where the safety of our children is too easily compromised by the Internet, we must take aggressive action to provide protection from sexual predators seeking to lure their victims through Internet social networking sites. I am proud to support this legislation which makes New York State the first in the United States to provide this level of protection for our children.”
Tompkins County District Attorney Gwen Wilkinson said, “Our children are increasingly turning to the Internet to communicate and interact with each other and this legislation will help protect them from sexual predators when they are online. Attorney General Cuomo should be commended for his leadership role in protecting children from online threats and I fully endorse the e-STOP package and will work in any way I can to help with its swift passage.”
Otsego County District Attorney John Muehl said, “I want to thank Attorney General Cuomo for leading this vital effort to keep children in our community safe. It is so important that we keep pace with the rapid advances in technology and e-STOP will give us the latest crime-fighting tools we need to help ensure that children are safe from online predators. The Attorney General's legislation has my endorsement.”
Chenango County District Attorney Joseph McBride said, “I join with District Attorneys throughout New York State in endorsing the e-STOP legislation proposed by Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. This legislation is an important step forward in making the internet safe for our community, and especially for our children.”
Tioga County District Attorney Gerald Keene said, “We need to do all that we can to protect our children from sexual predators who use the Internet as a tool to lure them into dangerous situations. I applaud Attorney General Cuomo for this legislation which, once enacted, will help to enhance safety in our community, especially the safety of our children.”
Chemung County District Attorney Weeden Wetmore said, “At the outset, it goes without saying that our children should be protected from sexual predators. We know that sexual predators have been using the Internet to exploit our children's innocence. The Attorney General's proposed legislation would afford law enforcement another tool in keeping our children safe, as it will no longer allow convicted sex offenders to surf the web anonymously and communicate with children via the Internet without criminal consequences. As a prosecutor I whole-heartedly support this bill.”
Delaware County District Attorney Richard Northrup said, “I fully support this legislation and both appreciate and join in the efforts of Attorney General Cuomo and all concerned to encourage passage of this important legislation.”
Passage of e-STOP would prohibit sexual predators from accessing social networking sites and restrict their Internet usage in a variety of other ways. It would require sex offenders to register all of their instant message screen names and any other online identifiers, and would give access to that information to companies with social networking Web sites. Those companies would then be able to prescreen and block access by convicted sex offenders.
The e-STOP legislation passed the State Senate unanimously on February 12. It has bipartisan support in the Assembly, is sponsored by the leadership of that house and is expected to be voted on in the next few weeks.
Sex offenders have been shown to have recidivism rates far higher than those who commit other types of crimes.
According to the state Division for Criminal Justice Services (DCJS), there are 424 registered sex offenders in Broome County, 124 in Chenango County, 113 in Cortland County, 92 in Tioga County, 107 in Tompkins County, 167 in Chemung County and 63 in Otsego County.
According to DCJS, New York State has more than 25,000 registered sex offenders.
? 9,604 are level 2 registered sex offenders (moderate risk to commit another sex crime).
? 6,537 are level 3 registered sex offenders (high risk to commit another sex crime and a threat to public safety exists).
The Electronic Security and Targeting of Online Predators (e-STOP) Act:
? Requires, as a condition of probation or parole, mandatory restrictions on a sex offender's access to the Internet where the offender's victim was a minor, the Internet was used to commit the offense or the offender was designated a level 3 (highest level) offender. Such offenders would be banned from accessing social networking web sites, accessing pornographic materials, communicating with anyone for the purpose of promoting sexual relations with a minor, and communicating, in most circumstances, with anyone under the age of 18.
? Requires that sex offenders register all of their Internet accounts and Internet identifiers (email addresses and designations used for chat, instant messaging, social networking or other similar Internet
communication) with the State Division of Criminal Justice Services.
? Authorizes the Division of Criminal Justice Services to release state sex offender Internet identifiers (email addresses and designations used for chat, instant messaging, social networking or other similar Internet communication) to social networking sites and certain other online services, that may be used to prescreen or remove sex offenders from using the site's services, and notify law enforcement authorities and other government officials of potential violations of law and threats to public safety.
Attorney General Cuomo has led recent groundbreaking efforts to protect users of the Internet from sexual predators.
Last spring, he worked with other state attorneys general and MySpace, a popular social networking site, to share with law enforcement authorities the identities of registered sex offenders who they had found and removed from the site.
In October, Attorney General Cuomo and the popular online community Facebook announced a new model to enforce safeguards aimed at protecting its network members, especially children and adolescents, from sexual predators, obscene content and harassment. The agreement was reached after serious deficiencies were found in the site's safety controls and investigators posing as young teenagers were sent online sexual advances from adults within days of setting up their accounts.
Both MySpace and Facebook, with tens of millions of users each, have taken significant steps to protect their users and supported efforts to create new laws protecting all Internet users from sexual predators.
Attorney General Cuomo applauds their initiative in taking industry leadership roles with respect to protecting the online community. Both companies agreed the new registry information e-STOP creates would help them be better able to block sex offenders from their sites.
Attorney General Cuomo has also advised parents to take preventive steps to keep their children safe and issued tips on How to Occupy Space on Social Networking Websites Safely:
Be cautious about sharing your personal information online that can be used to locate you offline. This includes your screen name, personal photos, hobbies, social security numbers, address, phone number, bank or credit card number, and for children, the schools they attend. Remember, websites for underage users are not permitted to request personal information without a parent's permission.
Do not share information online that you would not share offline - There are no “Takebacks.” Once information is posted online, it cannot be removed. If deleted or modified, older versions continue to exist online. Share information that is appropriate for the public.
Remember, colleges and potential employers may rely on a social networking website to check you out.
Use Privacy Settings to restrict access. Social networking websites provide a variety of privacy settings that can restrict access to personal information. These settings block unknown individuals from breaking into your account and misusing your profile and information.
Install safeguarding programs with monitoring or filtering capabilities. Your online service provider may offer these services.
Setting up a monitoring product is like a having a camera in the corner of your local bank - it can help collect evidence for law enforcement and trace a predator, if necessary.
Watch out for unsolicited messages and emails. Do not respond to emails or download attachments you are not expecting. Some viruses can “spoof” the name and email address of friends and fool users into an unwanted online relationship.
Beware of inappropriate or threatening online behavior. Risky online behavior can lead to cyber crimes. It may start with an online stranger following you into chat rooms, breaking into your account, abusing your personal information, sending you sexual solicitations or signing you up for porn sites and IM. Pay attention to these predators. Websites do not have the capability to verify ages or information of their users.
If in doubt, report it! If you believe that a predator is communicating with you or your child, you must report it. In every case where a child is molested or killed by an Internet sexual predator, law enforcement find messages sent to the predator by parents threatening to report them. Do not hesitate to report it.
Older Press Releases are online for archival purposes only. If you need updated information regarding items contained in these press releases please call or email the contact person listed for the release. Thank you.
Published Date: 02-22-2008
