The Village of Mineola Board of Trustees unanimously passed a law last week that sets restrictions on where a registered sex offender can take up residence within the boundaries of the Village of Mineola.

The law states that a registered sex offender cannot live within a 1,000-foot radius of a school, child day-care center, community center, public library, park, playground or other recreational facility.

The law was proposed by Mayor Jack M. Martins, since he wanted to provide some level of protection to children since children are the most vulnerable population to sexual predators. The law received the support of Deputy Mayor Larry Werther and Trustees Linda Fairgrieve, Paul Cusato and John DaVanzo, who all expressed a desire to protect the children of the village by prohibiting sex offenders from living in the immediate area of where children tend to congregate.

Although the law now restricts where registered sex offenders take up residence, it doesn't apply to registered sex offenders who have taken up residence in the village prior to the law being passed. Those registered sex offenders who already live in the village will not be forced to relocate. The law would apply to registered sex offenders who now move into the village.

According to the New York Sex Offender Registry that can be accessed through the website www.parentsformeganslaw.com, there are three registered sex offenders living in the village. There is a Level 2 offender living on Geranium Avenue, a Level 2 offender living on Musnug Avenue and a Level 2 offender living on Beebe Road.

Mayor Martins said he is concerned about a high rate of recidivism among sex offenders, meaning they may be likely to repeat a crime and therefore, the village should do what is within its power to protect its children.

Village attorney John Spellman wrote a law he feels would hold up to scrutiny if it is challenged. "I certainly think it's constitutional to do this. I feel comfortable with this [law] as village attorney," he said, adding that it is in the best interests of the safety and welfare of children."

When it came time for the public to speak, one resident suggested including bus stops in the law. However, the board felt that including the many bus stops in the village could make the law too broad and thus open it up to constitutional scrutiny.

Mineola Civic Association President Bill Urianek suggested that penalties should be given to landlords who rent housing units to registered sex offenders who reside within the restricted areas. The law penalizes the sex offender to the amount of up to $2,500 for each day he or she resides in a restricted area.

Under Megan's Law, the school receives notice from the police when a sex offender moves into the community. With the village passing this law, the village would also have to be notified when a registered sex offender moves into Mineola. Mayor Martins said he has received assurances from Nassau Police 3rd Precinct Inspector Robert Turk that the police would be able to notify the village.

While the law restricts registered sex offenders from living next to areas where children gather, residents should be aware that it doesn't prohibit a sex offender from going to a park, library or community center.

Deputy Mayor Werther said that although the law put restrictions on where sex offenders can reside and gives some measure of safety to children, unfortunately there isn't a law that can shield every child.

Education is still the best protection for children against sexual predators. Parents for Megans Law, a not-for-profit organization formed to protect children from sexual predators, offers information on its website for parents to protect their children. Parents of children should be aware of the term "stranger danger." Often, the predator is not a stranger to the child and parents and children should set boundaries for authority figures in the child's life. The following advice was taken from the www.parentsformeganslaw.com website:

Teach your children to be aware and trust the roles and the responsibilities and limits of those people they are in relationships with. Establish and explain healthy boundaries with your child and explain that people have certain roles. For example, their music teacher teaches them music but does not take photographs of them. Their sports coach teaches sports, but does not take them places to be alone. Any activity outside the realm of the boundary established must be carefully evaluated and discussed with an adult. The blurring of boundaries is often what sex offenders who groom children rely upon so please be aware of those boundaries at all times. One way to do this is to ask yourself why. Why does our family friend A, Coach B, Teacher C, Pastor D, Volunteer E or Doctor Z want to be alone with my child? Why should my child be receiving special treatment? Why is this person more interested in my child than me?

Establish, maintain and teach your children about healthy boundaries. Boundaries are the limits we establish or that we may have already established by virtue of the nature of each individual relationship we have or our children have with others. __