Plan To Keep Sex Offenders Off The Streets On Halloween In Effect Again This Year

Press release from the Westchester County Government:

28 October 2024

For the 18th year, Offenders will attend Anti-Sexual Abuse Victim Impact Program

When it comes time for trick-or-treaters to knock on doors this Halloween, local sex offenders will once again be attending an anti-sexual abuse victim impact program designed to keep sex offenders off the streets. The annual program is run by the Westchester County Department of Probation.

Over 100 registered and non-registered sex offenders on probation in Westchester County are required to attend an educational program at the Westchester County Courthouse on Thursday, October 31 from 5:30 to 10 p.m. This program is designed to educate offenders and raise awareness about the impact of their actions.

Program Director of Westchester Jewish Community Services (WJCS) Crime Victims Advocacy Support Services Program (CVASSP) Josefa Romero, and Kristian Garcia from WestCOP/Victims Assistance Services will conduct educational sessions for Spanish-speaking sex offenders. Licia Sandberg, an attorney and the founder and Senior Director of the Westchester Medical Center’s SAAVE program, will offer a victim’s perspective, drawing from her personal experiences and her legal work as an advocate. Susan Carroll, an attorney and Director of Training and Outreach at the PACE Women’s Justice Center, will raise awareness by discussing the legal and trauma-related impacts on survivors and the long-term "costs" to individuals and society.

While the program is in progress, Westchester County probation officers will be out in the community actively tracking down offenders who fail to attend the event. To ensure community safety, offenders will not be allowed to use public transportation after the event. Probation officers will provide transportation home for any offender who needs it.

For more information about the Westchester County Department of Probation, visit their website. This program is not open to the media.

This press release was produced by the Westchester County Government. The views expressed here are the author’s own.