Precedents put to legal challenge in other counties; Essex to await results

ELIZABETHTOWN -- Essex County's proposed sex-offender residence law is on hold while lawsuits against similar laws work through state courts.

Originally proposed by Supervisor Robert C. Dedrick (R-Ticonderoga) and based on laws passed in 14 other counties in the state, the law would have barred convicted sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of schools, day-care centers, playgrounds and other places where youths might congregate.

But similar laws in Albany and Washington counties are being challenged in court, and County Attorney Daniel Manning III said Monday he'd advise waiting to see how those cases turn out.

"It would be more prudent, in my opinion, to get a clear determination of what's constitutional. There's a question of pre-empting the state's sovereignty. There are bills in the legislature dealing with all these issues."

QUESTIONS

Essex County District Attorney Julie Garcia said many questions about such a law need to be answered, including who will prosecute violators.

"It's important to ask, does this local law actually protect the public? Oftentimes when you restrict a sex offender, they go underground, which makes it more difficult to determine where they actually are."

The law passed by Washington County was so restrictive that sex offenders could not have resided in villages because no location was more than 1,000 feet from at least one of the stipulated uses.

Clinton and Franklin counties don't have laws that restrict where sex offenders can live, although it has been discussed in several local communities.

Dedrick said he has heard from more people on this than any other issue, and they support a law.

"I don't mind moving slowly on this. Because of my years as a teacher, I wanted to deal with this."

He said he considered the law after learning two Level 3 high-risk sex offenders live near schools in Ticonderoga.

Essex County has eight state-classified Level 3 offenders, Garcia said. "We keep pretty good track of them."

She said she has not taken a stand on the residency-law issue.