New York, NY – After a convicted sex offender molested two young girls at a public library in Flushing, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio and Council Member Peter F. Vallone Jr. are calling for a new State law to bar sex offenders from children’s reading rooms. While there are laws on the books that make it a criminal offense for a convicted sex offender to enter a playground, no such statutes protect children in public libraries. De Blasio and Vallone have put forward a City Council resolution urging the State Legislature to update the criminal code, and have sent a letter to State legislative leaders calling for immediate action.
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“This problem is real, and it’s happening where parents trust their kids will be safe. A children’s reading room should be off limits for a sexual predator—just like a playground,” said Public Advocate de Blasio.
“It is common sense that we keep sexual predators away from areas where young kids congregate,” said Council Member Peter F. Vallone Jr. “Children’s rooms in libraries are really indoor playgrounds for growing minds, and our kids need every protection we can give them.”
Last month, a registered sex offender approached two girls, ages 6 and 9, at the Flushing branch of the Queens Public Library and touched them inappropriately. In a similar incident last year, a middle-aged man victimized a 7 year-old girl at the Steinway branch of the Queens Public Library. De Blasio and Vallone have singled out children’s reading rooms for protection because courts have overturned prior attempts to bar sex offenders from libraries altogether.
Since the cast majority of sexual offenders are friends and relatives…
– I sense some politicians running for office.
Why not take away their library cards? People sometimes sit there for hours. The librarian does not keep track of people .
I heard about a similar case in Manhattan. Disgusting.
Libraries should be off-limits to sexual predators who target children during hours when large numbers of children might be there. Perhaps these people should only be allowed at the library after 7:30pm, or something like that.
NO!
This is already way out of control, and it’s getting worse. One of the ideas of the American Justice system is that once a criminal has completed his punishment (be it jail or a fine or community service, or whatever), he should be free. The sex-offender registry should be unconstitutional. If the offender is dangerous, keep him locked up.
how about a bill forbidning abusers from teaching at private schools
If we let them into shuls, why not libraries?
To #7 We should forbid them from teaching at private schools and I hope that the private schools do the fingerprinting in the fall. To #8 Yes they have to daven, so why can 217;t they make their own private minyan? Shtiebls pop up all over  212; what 217;s the difference if we have one more!!
Its from childrens reading rooms. Not libraries. Read the article.
anyone can walk into a library. and u dont need a card or to show any ID. u can go into the children’s section alone too. and lots of parents send the kids alone to the library also. like they say….see something say something.
Some sex offenders visit grocery stores and walk on the streets. Shall we spend millions to create legislation to keep them from there, too? Sex offender management is big business and the public has been lied to in order to create mass hysteria and hate. SO’s have a recidivism of 3% and 97% of all sex crimes are completed by people NOT on the registry. Why are we spending $400,000,000 per year on this glorified photo album? Because it all trickles down to background check companies, elections, GPS monitoring, hysteria and grants. Every new law requires money to enact it. Anyway, EVEN IN LIBRARIES children should be monitored by THEIR PARENTS. There could be ten sex offenders in the library and I guarantee that my child will be safe because I will be there with her. Everyone is happy. Hate begets hate and I wouldn’t put it past some offender from snapping some day and go on an Aurora-like killing spree. Then who do you blame? Remember that Sandusky was not a sex offender, passed every background check and was loved by many who even let their children spend the night at his house. How did that four hundred million and draconian legislation help his victims.