GUILDERLAND — Marie Wiles, superintendent of the Guilderland schools, sent a notice on Dec. 11 to parents and guardians of students, letting them know that a Level 3 sex offender has moved into the district.

Level 3 sex offenders are those, on a three-level scale, deemed most dangerous and most likely to reoffend. 

A link on the school district’s website to the Guilderland Police lists the offender as Walter W. Frank and says he lives at 4 Kelly Avenue in Guilderland.

Entries in the state’s sex offender registry list him as living in Watervliet.

Both describe Frank as being 57 years old and 5 feet, 11 inches tall, with gray hair and green eyes.

Both say he was arrested by Bethlehem Police in 2008 for sexual contact with girls ages 4, 8, and 11 who were known to him.

Coercion was used, but no weapon, the state registry says. Frank was convicted in 2010 of first-degree sexual abuse for sexual contact with individuals less than 11 years old and sentenced to 30 months in state prison.

An OffenderWatch function on the Guilderland Police website shows 10 sex offenders living within a 5-mile radius of Guilderland High School; 12 living within 5 miles of Farnsworth Middle School; two within 5 miles of Altamont Elementary; 12 within 5 miles of Lynnwood Elementary; 11 within 5 miles of Pine Bush Elementary; 12 within 5 miles of Guilderland Elementary and six within 5 miles of Westmere elementary School.

‘There is, of course, overlap with these listings.

“Any time we receive this information regarding a level 3 sex offender, it will be circulated to all employees including principals, teachers, teaching assistants, monitors who issue visitors' passes, bus drivers, custodians, playground monitors, and coaches,” Wiles said in her notice. “Our employees have been directed to notify their building principal or supervisor if they observe any suspicious person(s) in an area where children congregate..”

She went on, “All of our schools have strict sign-in/sign-out procedures for our students, and all visitors to our buildings are required to sign-in and show a photo ID.  In addition, our school curriculum includes teaching personal safety designed to assist students should they be approached by a stranger.  We encourage you to talk to your children about personal safety as well.”