On Thursday, Jan. 26, Senator Charles Fuschillo came to Farmingdale High School with a very important topic to discuss. Along with Laura Ahearn, the executive director of Parents for Megan's Law, they held a forum for parents to discuss sexual offenders and how to protect the children of this community.

"Not only am I a legislator, but I'm also a parent of three children. My wife and I try very hard to keep them safe," said Fuschillo. "In New York the list is too large and as a legislator, I need to create ways to better protect the children and teach the parents how to be safer."

Since he took office, Fuschillo has actively worked to create and change laws that deal with convicted sexual offenders in this community. Teaming up with Parents for Megan's Law, an organization created to help families whose children have been victims of sexual abuse, was started in 1998 by Ahearn. The organization also works to teach parents and children how to be safer and more aware in their communities.

The forum began with a few remarks from Fuschillo who reminded those at the meeting how very important this topic is. After introducing Ahearn they explained some of the new laws and bills that are being worked on. Ahearn explained a bill that would have sexual predators monitored for life rather than the allotted time of their punishment. This "civil commitment" bill has not passed in the Assembly, but Ahearn urged the parents to call for a push on this bill.

"We have to supervise these guys for life," Ahearn said.

If this bill passes, sex offenders would be placed in treatment facilities, a method that 24 other states use. Fuschillo explained that for eight years these types of bills have been brought to the assembly without success.

"It comes down to priority, the speaker is more concerned with the constitutional rights of citizens but he must consider the most vulnerable." Ahearn explained.

Ahearn explained to the forum what good work the senator has done for this cause and that he is the type of politician who should be kept in office because he will fight for the children. After these opening remarks Ahearn introduced her colleague, Carol Amelia who gave a presentation about their organization and all that they do.

"We are a watchdog organization. We will do anything and everything to help children," said Amelia.

Amelia explained to the concerned parents what their organization does for families whose children have been victims of sexual abuse. She also went into how the parents of Farmingdale can prevent such things from happening by giving them tips on how to recognize a problem and how to avoid these problems.

Senator Fuschillo is looking into setting up more of these forums for local residents. He feels the more information out in public the better it will be for the children.

For more information on Parents for Megan's Law visit www.parentsformeganslaw.com.