Assemblyman Joe Angelino is pictured with BOCES students from his district who recently visited the state Capitol. Angelino is sponsoring legislation that would require all sex offenders to be placed in the publicly searchable portion of the state’s online sex offender registry.

Assemblyman Andrew Molitor is among the co-sponsors of legislation that would require all sex offenders to be placed in the publicly searchable area of the state’s online sex offender registry.

Sponsored by Assemblyman Joseph Angelino, Binghamton, the legislation (A.10975) would amend the state’s Corrections Law to authorize the name, photo and other identifying information of Level 1 sex offenders to be publicly disclosed on the DCJS sex offender directory website.

Angelino’s bill has attracted 14 Republican co-sponsors, including Molitor, R-Westfield, and Joe Sempolinski, R-Canisteo. The legislation has been referred to the Assembly’s Corrections Committee.

Currently, under the state’s Sex Offender Registration Act, photos and identifying information for Level 2 (moderate risk) and Level 3 (high risk) sex offenders can be posted on the publicly searchable Division of Criminal Justice Services online registry. State law prohibits the Division of Criminal Justice Services from posting information about Level 1 (low risk) offenders, something Angelino said effectively shields Level 1 offenders from public exposure.

Angelino drafted the bill after a person who sexually abused a child was able to continue the behavior for years, targeting multiple child victims, because he was classified as a Level 1 sex offender. Because Level 1 sex offenders aren’t publicly identified, Angelino said, the man’s status was invisible to the community unlike Level 2 or Level 3 offenders.

“This gap in the law can create a dangerous and misleading sense of security,” Angelino wrote in his co-sponsorship memorandum. “Parents and residents routinely rely on the DCJS public registry to help protect their children, but they are often doing so based on missing information. As a result, families may unknowingly make decisions without being aware of nearby offenders who pose a real safety risk.”

Onondaga County Sheriff Toby Shelley recently sent a second letter to state legislators asking for the change, according to television station WSTM. Shelley cited the cases involving Ryan Pontello, which is the case to which Angelino was referring, as well as a case involving David Renz, who was convicted after killing a woman and raping a 10-year-old girl in 2013.

Florida makes all sex offender and sexual predator registration information public, regardless of the severity of the crime, while Alabama operates a database that includes all sex offenders, regardless of risk level, and makes the information publicly available on their sex offender registry website.

“Expanding the registry to include all offenders, regardless of risk level, would provide consistent, transparent, and reliable access to information. This change is essential to ensure that communities have the tools they need for making fully informed decisions about their safety,” Angelino wrote.