NEW SCOTLAND – A Level 2 sex offender has recently moved into town, according to the state’s criminal justice department registry.

Town Supervisor Ed Clark was not aware of this when The Enterprise called him this week to inquire about how the public is notified.

Notification, he said, is the responsibility of the law-enforcement agency, in this case, the Albany County Sheriff’s Department.
"They [Sheriff’s Department] already have the responsibility; we’re satisfied leaving the responsibility with them," Clark told The Enterprise this week.
"They seem to do a very good job of it," he said.

Kevin Sarkey was convicted of second-degree sexual abuse for having sexual contact with a person less than 14 years old, a misdemeanor, in September of 2002, the registry says.

The victim was a 13-year-old female, the registry says. No weapons and no force was used, nor were computers or pornography involved, the registry says.

Sarkey now lives at 10 Tollgate Road in New Scotland, the registry says.
The penal law states that a person is guilty of this charge when, "he subjects another person to sexual contact."

The registry states that he was sentenced to six years of probation, which is supervised by Albany County Probation.

A New Scotland resident called The Enterprise this week to inform the newspaper that she had learned that Sarkey had moved into town. She was concerned that she had not been informed through local law enforcement or the town.
"I worry about my children – their safety and the safety of the neighborhood," the resident said. Her name is being withheld by The Enterprise because she fears being targeted.
"You feel like you’re in a safe area. That shatters your system of safety," she added.

On July 7, the governor signed into law a new requirement that the identities and crimes of Level 2 sex offenders would join Level 3 sex offenders as being listed on the Internet and available to the public.

Prior to this law being passed, only Level 3 sex offenders – considered the most likely to re-offend in the three-tiered system – were listed publicly. Level 2 offenders are considered to be at moderate risk to re-offend.

A directory of Level 2 and Level 3 offenders is available at local law enforcement agencies. A registry can also be accessed by phone at 1-800-262-3257, or on-line at www.criminaljustice.state.ny.us. The registry is maintained by the state’s Department of Criminal Justice.

Local law-enforcement agencies are notified when a sex offender moves into their jurisdiction. The law-enforcement agency may then choose to distribute that information to any vulnerable populations.
" They inform all the people they feel appropriate to inform," Clark told The Enterprise this week, regarding the Albany County Sheriff’s Department.

The sheriff’s department did not return calls to The Enterprise this week.

When a Level 3 offender moved to New Scotland three years ago, The Enterprise spoke to Senior Investigator Michael Monteleone of the Albany County Sheriff’s Department. He said that it is at the discretion of the law enforcement agency to determine who to classify as a "vulnerable entity."
In that case, the first round of notifications consisted of those living in the nearby area similar to the offender’s prior victims, Monteleone said. Parents with children "remotely near that age group" were notified, he said.
The Sheriff’s Department contacted the principal at Voorheesville Elementary School because it "certainly has a vulnerable population" Monteleone said. The district then sent letters to parents in the district.

Voorheesville Superintendent Linda Langevin could not be reached for comment this week, but, in 2003, the district did not have a specific policy for dealing with notifying parents.