Parents advised to stay informed
Published on August 13th, 2003
STONEHAM, MA - According to public safety officials at both the local and State level, the best way to be aware of possible sexual predators within any town is to stay informed.
According to information proved by the Sexual Offender Registry Board (SORB) website, there are currently three Level Two sex offenders living in Stoneham.
According to the SORB, Level Two offenders are determined to pose “moderate risk to reoffend, and the degree of dangerousness posed to the public is such that the public interest is served by public availability of registration information.”
Any member of the public can request the names and addresses of all Level Two and Level Three sex offenders living or working in Stoneham. According to Stoneham Police Lt. Rick McCarthy, they simply either have to contact the Stoneham Police Department or contact the Sex Offender Registry Board.
“We have a limited amount of requests for the information, but it’s certainly something we can provide,” said McCarthy. “People should come into the station and ask Insp. Bob McKinnon for the sex offender information.”
According to Charlie Mc-Donald, Director of Communications and Legislation for the SORB, it may be possible for a convicted sex offender to live in Stoneham pending a determination of their risk of reoffense.
According to McDonald, a Level One Offender represents a low risk of reoffense, a Level Two Offender represents a moderate risk, a Level Three Offender presents a high risk of reoffense, and the SORB can further determine that a Level Three Offender can also be deemed a Sexually Violent Predator.
“The way in which the sex offender operates is that they register by mail, and, at a certain point, the SORB notifies the offender that they are about to register him,” said McDonald. “The sex offender is then given 30 days to submit any kind of information that they feel would be to their credit in the classification process.”
According to McDonald, the SORB then takes a total of 25 factors into account when determining the classification of each individual sex offender.
“It’s not a case of just using the actual charge in the determination,” said McDonald. “It’s not an assessment of their danger or risk to reoffend when they committed the crime or was released from prison...it’s their risk of reoffense now.”
The SORB will then contact the offender and notify them of their recommended classification. According to McDonald, the offender then has the choice of either accepting the classification, or requesting a hearing.
“If he requests a hearing, he would not be classified as a registered sex offender yet and it would be a brand new hearing,” said McDonald of the administrative law hearing. “If they ask for a hearing, it can take anywhere from three months to a year to complete that case.”
“Just because he is known to police does not mean that his information is necessarily known to the public,” added McDonald. “It just means they haven’t gone through the classification process.”
At the end of the hearing process, a hearing examiner would give a final level classification on the sex offender involved.
“The sex offender would then go to the local police station and register every year if they’re a Level Two or Three offender,” said McDonald. “It could be for twenty years or for life, depending on the severity of the crimes committed.”
Stoneham resident interested in getting a list of sex offenders living and working in Stoneham can call Insp. Bob McKinnon at 781-438-1215, or call the SORB at 1-978-740-6400.
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