GUILDERLAND — In accordance with an expansion of New York’s version of Megan’s Law, signed by Governor George Pataki on July 7, the Guilderland Police have released information on a Level 2 sex offender, Donald Earl White, living in town.

The new law requires all Level 2 sex offenders to be listed on the Internet and available to the surrounding public.
Before the law was passed, only Level 3 sex offenders, who are considered the most likely to re-offend in the state’s three-tiered system, were listed for the public. Level 2 sex offenders are considered at "moderate risk" to re-offend.
"The ones that we can post will be posted," said Guilderland Deputy Chief Carol Lawlor. "They’re posted on the town’s website and people can check the Department of Criminal Justice Services website."

In 1996, New York adopted a law requiring that information about high-risk sex offenders be made public. The law was modeled on one adopted earlier by New Jersey, frequently called Megan’s Law, after Megan Kanka, a seven-year-old who was raped and murdered by a neighbor who had twice been convicted of sex crimes.

Community notification can happen in four ways. A directory of level 2 and 3 offenders is available at local law-enforcement agencies. A registry, which can be accessed by phone at 1-800-262-3257, or Internet at www.criminaljustice.state.ny.us, is maintained by the state’s criminal justice department. And local law-enforcement agencies are notified when a sex offender moves into their jurisdiction.

In turn, the law-enforcement agency may disseminate relevant information to any entity with vulnerable populations.

The Guilderland Police Department has developed a point system to determine which sex offenders the public will be notified of.
"I think it’s a very good program. You can go statewide or local," Lawlor told The Enterprise. "Anything that educates the public and gets the public well informed is a good idea."

According to the governor’s office, there are currently over 23,000 convicted sex offenders listed with the New York State Sex Offender Registry.

New listing

The Guilderland Police have released the following information on a Level 2 sex offender in the Guilderland area:
Donald Earl White, 57, registered with the New York State Sex Offender Registry, is living at 2993 St. Michaels Pl., Guilderland, 12303. White was convicted of second-degree rape and second-degree sodomy, both felonies, in March of 1997, in Montgomery County Court. His victim was an 11-year-old female and his offense description says that he was a "non-stranger" and had "more than one sexual contact" with his victim, and that he did not use a weapon.

He was sentenced to serve 28 months to seven years in state prison and is currently out on parole until Jan. 11, 2011. He is a Level 2 sex offender and considered a moderate risk to re-offend. He has complied with all New York registry laws.

White did not return a call to The Enterprise.

The Guilderland Police added a notice saying that White is not wanted by police and that any citizen abuse of this information used to threaten, intimidate, or harass registered sex offenders is illegal, and such abuses could potentially end the ability to provide detailed community notifications.

The intent of this notice, according to Guilderland Police, is to simply inform the public.