Sex Crimes Chief Urges Education to Keep Children Safe from Predators

"Should you talk to your child about the dangers of sex abusers? Yes, you should have that conversation," said Fred Green, who heads up the sex crimes unit in the Westchester County District Attorney's office.

In his talk, Green provided locals with information about Megan's law—which requires law enforcement authorities to notify the public regarding registered sex offenders—and the role of the sex crimes bureau in its implementation.

The session lasted two-and-a-half hours and at times grew raucous, heated and angry as parent asked questions regarding While many in the packed room were nervous and expressed outrage, others later said the session was beneficial."I found it really helpful," said Steve Barbera, a Bedford Hills resident.

Steve Milligan, 45, was convicted of raping a 15-year-old girl and served five years in a Florida prison before relocating to Turtlepond Lane. David Ohnmact was convicted of rape and sodomy against teenaged girls, among other offenses, in 2002, according to the New York State Department of Criminal Justice. He served eight years in jail and was released this week to Harris Road in Bedford Hills.

Both men are listed on the state sex offender registry.

Throughout the evening, Green, with the bureau for 25 years and a parent himself, emphasized the role of parents in keeping kids safe.

"The news is full of [the] Penn State [scandal] and it's very shocking. We want to think these crimes are perpetrated by people in shadows, but that's not really our experience. Most are acquaintances that we know that we interact with in our communities, he said. "We need to be more concerned with the people that we turn our kids over to on a regular basis."

Megan's Law should inspire parents to have frank conversations with their children about the real-life dangers of sex abuse, Green added.

"There was no law for Megan [Kanka, the 7-year-old New Jersey girl for whom the sex offender notifcation law was named]. She had no protection. She was lured and she fell prey," he said. 

Community notification is based on the threat that is posed by an offender to the community. The sex crimes bureau aggressively pursues the highest level of risk—a 1, 2 or 3 based on a court-decided risk assessment—because the higher the risk, the more information a community receives, said Green.

As a Level 3 offender, Ohnmact was released under a conditional parole with supervision and faces several restrictions under the Sex Offender Registration Act, according to the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. He's not allowed to drive, own a computer or access the Internet, he has a curfew and he's prohibited from contacting any of his victims or anyone under the age of 18.

But some residents wanted to know more about his restrictions and why a level 3 offender was released into a community that is full of families with young children.

During a Q&A session Green—along with Lt. Jeffrey Dickan of the , which organized the event—fielded questions on the parole restrictions of the offenders, statistics on sex offender recidivism, and strategies to share information with children.

Many of the parents who asked questions, including the mother of a 15-year-old girl who lived in the area at the time of Ohnmacht's conviction, declined to give their names for this story. Ohnmact's family—his father, mother and two sisters—attended the meeting but declined to comment as well.

Green said that as a level 3 offender, Ohnmacht would be required to wear a GPS bracelet for tracking purposes and undergo treatment, but he wasn't sure if he would be allowed to walk along Harris Road. As a level 2 offender, Milligan does not face the same restrictions but does have to remain on the registry for life.

Green pledged that he would follow up with his parole officer and encouraged the community to do the same.

"They want to hear from you. It's possible the parole officer doesn't know there are several bus stops on his street. You may find they will rely on you," he said.

Dickan echoed his message. "If anything looks suspicous, we want to hear from you. There is increased patrol in those areas and we will respond to you if anything looks unusual to you," he said.

Parents should not focus so much on the two known offenders in the area but on the offenders who have never been arrested, said May Krukiel, Director of Victim Assistance Services, a nonproft agency in Westchester, and Curtis St. John, past president of MaleSurvivor: NOMSV, a national organization against male sexual victimization, both of whom attended Wednesday night's meeting.

"Some victims haven’t filed a police report, or [perhaps] a prosecution is not successful—it's most important is to educate children so they know what they are looking for," said Krukiel. "Sex abuse is endemic, it's part of our culture." 

Resources recommended by Victims Assistance Services

• Personnel at 24-hour hotline can help guide parents in how to talk to children about sex abuse in age-appropriate ways: 914-345-9111
• Representatives from the agency are available for presentations at communities—from book clubs to PTA meetings
• RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest Network) offers tips on keeping children safe