Rockland County NY – Less than a week after police were called to Grandview Elementary School in Monsey to respond to complaints of trespassing by Orthodox Jewish families, The Journal News reports (http://lohud.us/RIZGBV) that one of the volunteer parents guarding the premises is himself a Level 1 sex offender.
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In 1999, Spring Valley resident Keith Meyers, 47, pleaded guilty to a “misdemeanor count of attempted possession of a sexual performance” of a child younger than 16 years old. Although Meyers told Journal News reporter Mareesa Nicosia about his criminal past, she did not include it in the original front-page story. “We showed a bad lapse in judgment,” said CynDee Royle, editor and vice president/news for The Journal News. “The information on Mr. Meyers’ criminal history should have been included, particularly in a story about parents’ fears concerning sex offenders being on school grounds.”
Meyers’ sex offender status came to light after someone complained about his presence at the school and called the Ramapo Police Department. He said he sees nothing wrong with being at the school, and that he was helping to ensure school safety along with the rest of the assembled parents. “I’m a parent and a taxpayer and I have a right to be there,” Meyers said. “For this to be the lightning rod and focus of this, I’m desperately afraid this is going to take attention away from the real problem.”
A Level 1 sex offender is the lowest of the three levels of sex offenders and is considered to be at low risk of re-committing their crimes. Level 1 offenders are required to register with the state for 20 years, but are not listed on the sex offender website. However, Meyers’ picture and status are listed on the East Ramapo School District website.
makes a lot off sense to have a sex offender as a security guard protect children…
such bigotry they would rather allow a sex offender on premisises then an orthodox
shame on them
The school knows if it was debated at the school board meeting,
blocking the Jews would stop immediately.
I wonder what Mr. PMO will have to say now.
For the record, many of the people who were pictured in the Urinal News as allegedly passing through the school yard in fact did not do so. They were walking past the school on Grandview Ave. The paper thought it would be nice to include a picture of a Obviously Jewish family to include with the story. I know this as fact.
And for the record, I went past the school again and there is no “No Trespassing Sign”. The sign says no loitering, which this registered offender was doing, allegedly at the behest of the principal. The Jews were not loitering.
these people are worse then sodom ..its ze neney v ze lochosor
and we pay taxes it could even be stealing
this peggy haton who arranged this skit ..is nothing more then the upstate al sharpton
I predict that they’ll vote to legalize these holiday walk throughs and regularize them with some minimal security or supervisory presence. That’d be the sane thing to do– and predictable given the political climate. Its nice when Haredim use the ballot box and sane argument to advance their agenda. I’m very optimistic about this E Ramapo situtation. Its real civic engagement on the part of haredim and could lead to good things.
All those commenters who will write how awful it is that’s he’s a sex offender, you’re right. Terrible being a school gaurd while being on the list but hello guys! No trespassing is no passing! Who cares if it shortens the way to the Shvigger?? Why can’t we learn to follow simple rules? anybody has a right not to apple people to
The allegation that a “Guard At East Ramapo School That Prevented Trespassing By Orthodox Jews [was] A Sex Offender” makes absolutely no difference to the fact that the Jews who traversed the school property, uninvited and without official permission, were trespassing. Let there be no misunderstanding whatsoever about that.
Keith Meyers is a low-level sex offender who pleaded guilty in 1999 to a misdemeanor of trying to own a video of a child under 16 engaged in sex. He’s also a parent who has a child in the school whose grounds were illegally used by haredim as a shortcut to and from shul on Sukkot.
The principal tried to keep the haredim off school grounds on the first day, but haredim refused to listen to her and kept right on cutting through. So on the second day of the holiday, a group of parents who have children in the school, including Meyers, came to help her.
A level one sex offender usually has no restrictions of movement and can go on school grounds as the administration allows.
Meyers told the Journal News in an interview for the article it published on the confrontations that he was a level one registered sex offender. But the Journal News **did not print that fact** – until haredim who had recognized Meyers from a picture and video posted with that article made a stink.
Haredim used the discovery of Meyers’ past for their own purposes – not to protect children.
And *there* lies the sin in this case – not with Meyers. Yet more haredi hypocrisy.
why do frum yidden feel they can trespass on private property…why do you feel you are arrogant above the law?
This information is hardly relevant. Rules are rules. There is actually sound reasoning behind these rules.
That being said, a compromise should certainly be worked out here.
Also, the frum Jews alleging antisemitism in the video clips were truly disgraceful and caused an enormous chillul hashem.
For those who don’t live in Monsey, the school is situated on 10+ acres of land, the majority of which isn’t used by the school, but as a neighborhood park. It is used as a shortcut by yes, frum yidden, but also by secular Jews and non-Jews as well. This has been the case for at least the 12 years that I have lived in the area, but likely for more than 20 years. I am not home for Yom Tov, but in the past I have NEVER seen a no trespassing sign, nor have I been asked or heard of someone who’s been asked not to walk on the property. The way this was handled by the school and parent body to drop the ball on the community and call the police on Yom Tov without notifying the community in advance is typical of the way some of our non-jewish neighbors try to portray the frum community – as law-breaking individuals who don’t care about anyone else. Had this been done in the proper manner with advance notification I’m sure a compromise could have been made. To add insult to injury was to have Meyers (even if “only” a level one offender) “guard” the school from the potential of having another sex offender possibly enter the property only confirms that this was solely to antagonize the frum community. In addition, I believe that by law, if rights to a property are not enforced for a prolonged period of time (squatter’s rights?) they can no longer be enforced. Not sure, but if someone with a legal background can comment it would be appreciated.
remind me, what was the disagreement between Avraham Aveenu’s shepherds and those of Lot’s? Shame on whom?
It may be doing a public service to out the convicted sex-offender but it would be a kiddush haShem to obey the law of the land. One thing really does have nothing to do with the other.
Not sure what the prob is, for years local Shuls have announced that when yom Tov falls out during the week not to use the PS as short cuts.
That doesn’t mean I’m ignoring the fact that there is a big rift in ERSD between the PS parents and the yeshiva parents.
Its public property, hence the name “Public School”. In NYC people frequently cut through school yards. The school are not accessible to people without being buzzed in, so how is this a safety issue?
B”H
What’s big deal about cutting through school yard.
I have done this hundreds of times on shabbos and yom tov in various communities and was never hassled by anyone.
The secular and nonjews obviously have a vendetta and are using this as an excuse to harrass yidden.
They may have won in short run but IY”H the board will vote to allow this as a rule in the district.
The public schools belong to THE PUBLIC including tax paying yidden.
The public schools belong to THE PUBLIC including tax paying yidden.
There would really be no discussion here if the Orthodox school board had not removed and reduced all security funding for the schools. Instead, they allocated more money in books which they shipped to Brooklyn according to the state audit. Millions of dollars are being investigated by the state now…dollars that went missing. I’m surprised nothing serious has happened yet.
Whether or not the town, the school, or anyone else is anti-Semitic is of no relevance. It is also irrelevant whether it is a public school supported with tax dollars. And while there were no signs, the only significance of them would be to support an arrest. The issue here is simply one of derech eretz. Live and daven wherever you want, but unless you receive specific permission to cut through property that doesn’t belong to you, you have no business doping so-if you’re really an ehrliche yid. When you, with your hat and tzit-tzis, publicly shlep on others property for your convenience, it is a busha to all yidden. It may even be a chilul Hashem. I could care less that you have a long walk. Live closer to where you daven, or daven closer to where you live. But if you choose neither, stop whining and walk.
To monseydoc, I am an attorney and while you raise an excellent point. There is something called an easement, which can be by necessity or permission. That the path has been used this way for years without complaint may entitle such further use, but the assertion that the path was purposely placed there as a public thoroughfare. And absent permission, it shouldn’t be used.
As an area resident for 20+ years all I have to say is kudos to those concerned parents who came all the way over to a school their children don’t even attend just to prevent us and our families from being exposed to Keith Meyers…sex offenders don’t have horns or green skin and hence are usually hard to spot…they brought mr Myers to us front and center so we can recognize him and make sure our children know to avoid him…if not for these citizens, deviants like mr Myers would be able to continue to put our families at risk… I mean look what happened when the journal news published the information about mr Myers background…he claimed to be a school parent…he was indicted in 1999 at age 47…that makes him like 62…as the grandview school is only thru 6th grade..that means he went from predator to parent at about 50…wonder why that is hmmm???
What better way of reminding our families that they must always have their wits about them than by parading someone like mr Myers right in front of us during a time when their children were safely in class and ours were going through the park? We…the residents of forshay/wesly
As an area resident for 20+ years all I have to say is kudos to those concerned parents who came all the way over to a school their children don’t even attend just to prevent us and our families from being exposed to Keith Meyers…sex offenders don’t have horns or green skin and hence are usually hard to spot…they brought mr Myers to us front and center so we can recognize him and make sure our children know to avoid him…if not for these citizens, deviants like mr Myers would be able to continue to put our families at risk… I mean look what happened when the journal news published the information about mr Myers background…he claimed to be a school parent…he was indicted in 1999 at age 47…that makes him like 62…as the grandview school is only thru 6th grade..that means he went from predator to parent at about 50…wonder why that is hmmm???
What better way of reminding our families that they must always have their wits about them than by parading someone like mr Myers right in front of us during a time when their children were safely in class and ours were going through the park? We…the residents of forshay/Wesley hills owe these caring…concerned neighbors…individuals who on their own time…left jobs…families etc…and stood out in the rain waiting to warn us to avoid the school as mr Myers was there…on behalf of all those who got frustrated because they didn’t understand what you were REALLY doing let me just say thank you