"Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced that more than 3,500 accounts of New York registered sex offenders have been purged from online video game platforms as part of 'Operation: Game Over,' a groundbreaking initiative with participation from Microsoft, Apple, Blizzard Entertainment, Electronic Arts, Disney Interactive Media Group, Warner Brothers and Sony. The Attorney General’s database sweep is a first-of-its-kind effort to protect children from predators on video game networks in New York State."
It is notable that the only case mentioned in the Attorney General's press release is that of "Richard Kretovic, a 19-year-old man from Monroe County, [who] pled guilty to sexual abuse charges after meeting a 12-year-old boy on the popular online video game system Xbox LIVE." Mr. Kretovic was not a registered sex offender at the time of his crime, and this announced action would not have prevented his crime. Apparently, the Attorney General's office is unable to point to any incident in New York State where a registered sex offender victimized someone using a gaming network, or they would have mentioned it. I make it a point to stay on top of such things, and I have never heard of any such case.
The primary risk is not from offenders we know about but those we don't know about. In New York State, 95% of those arrested for sex crimes have no prior convictions for sex crimes and thus are not listed on any registry. Training workshops were held across New York State last week that were attended by hundreds of law enforcement officers, probation and parole officers, etc. Research presented there indicates that New York's sex offender management policies have not made our communities safer.
“Operation: Game Over” is made possible by New York's eSTOP law which requires registered sex offenders to report their e-mail addresses and other Internet identifiers. They are then excluded from Facebook and other networks. Of course, this also prevents them from posting the true facts about registered sex offenders and "Operation: Game Over" because many news and media outlets require Facebook accounts in order to post comments.
Who is playing the real games here?
14 comments:
Just like they're scooping young adults up who accidentally download child porn from peer to peer sites.
They seem to be picking on a group of individuals who are too young to know any better and have no money to defend themselves or their freedoms.
I think that this is a step in the right direction. Though it will not prevent all crimes committed by sex offenders, it will eliminate some. Sex offenders can easily log onto an internet site and prey on children, but at least with this law it would be harder for them to do so.
I'm commenting because I am a registered sex offender (I'm a level 1 and you will not find my name in the public registry). I think it would be good for someone who actually deals with these restrictions to speak. I was convicted of an offense commits by my at-the-time boyfriend, because I could not prove I DIDN'T do it, and was badgered into pleading guilty by a district attorney and public defender who liberally used scare tactics on my family and myself, knowing we were inexperienced in legal situations. I'm not perfect, but over all I believe I am a good person. And apparently so do the vast majority of people who have known me, because despite 4 1/2 years in state prison & 2 1/2 years on parole, my friends and family are continually supportive of me in ever way.
I am not a unique case, I am not a rarity. I was mandated to take a 'sex offender program' while incarcerated, and of all of the women I met who were required to register upon release (maybe 40 women) only 2 were there for what is considered 'typical' sex offenses, IE: child molestation. And 90% of them were sitting in jail because they had gotten involved with a man who did something heinous and they were guilt6 by association.
The entire issue of sex offender registration is vastly, enormously exploited by politics and greed. Sex sells, so the media catastrophizes the rarest, sickest crimes as if they were a common danger. Politians persecute and demonize anyone they can POSSIBLY convict of ANY sex crime, because being seen as 'hard on sex offenders' will increase their chances of reelection.
I'm still in my 20s but I often consider taking my own life, because living with this label is terrifying. All I ever really wanted out of life were the things most people want.....love, happiness, a family, and to do something that contributed to the good of the world and that I enjoyed.....and because I was young and manipulated by a man (have any of us NOT been there?) I may never have any of those things.
But I love life...and I'm trying....because no matter what the LAW says...I'm just a regular girl.....trying my best.
I am a level 1 in ny .
I am the ghost they chase , I am the witch they hunt. I have no rights or voice. I live in fear every day of a new law that will chain me away for ever. I once was a stupid kid who spent. Night with a girl under 17. Now I'm a grown man with a career , children and normal life. I never hid in a bush , or had some urge to harm anyone. They label me the boogeyman yet I'm the one in constant fear .
...ya know, something people need to realize is that most (95%) of 'sex offenders' never re-offend. If you really stop and think about that...its not sex offenders anyone should really be worried about...its non-sex offenders. (...or people that have never been caught)
I think if you ask most sex offenders, the 'system' has beat them down so bad that they never even want to break the speed limit laws.
I am level 2 and my crime about 20 yrs ago and i have never committed any other crime sense.and i have 3 boys love them to death and to them i am not a monster.plus i talk to the one i committed the crime against she holds no hard feelings with me but still i am a level 2 i just wanna be re-classed.and want others like me helped thank you
I'm a level 1 and convicted of attempted possession of child pornography, a misdemeanor. This was a plea bargain for 3 photographs taken off the internet of girls standing nude but not ingaged in a sexual activity. For this I received 8 weekends in jail, probation, and listed on the SOR for 10 years as a level 1. Prior to this I was an outstanding citizen... Eagle Scout, Scoutmaster, and Daycare Opperator. It wasn't my criminal charges that I was concerned about but my marraige and my 3-yr old son to which my wife fought for full custody and no visitation. This was almost 10-years ago and although I'm past loosing my son, I live with the fear of anyone finding out that I'm a sex offender. I've had over 100 hours of personal counceling from my therapist to deal with my depression and since of being an outcast. I work construction to avoid children and have no relationships to speak of. I watch movies on DVD and Netflix every night. Then I came home one evening from work and logged onto Netflix only to find that my Soney Playstation Account was canceled... so no more Netflix. I was furious to find out that our NY Attourny General issued "Opperation Game Over". And now that a few months have past i'm past that too. But the biggest fear is trying to get on with my life only to have the Sheriff knock on my door because of another stupid law that I didn't know about and have all my work riped away from me. I'll kill myself before I spend another day in jail.
im a level 2, after being set up by a dirty police officer and his 16 yr. old kid accomplice,- had they not have set me up i would never have committed the crime in the first place. It was on the internet, - i am classified at level 2 - i have never touched a single kid before that in any way shape or form. Cops can't catch the real predators they have to set up innocent people and turn them into criminals.
If you GOOGLE sex offender myths you will see and learn that 95 percent of everything you me and we the people have been told under the belief that its the truth is infact in reality nonthing more then propaganda, false information folklore, and myths. Yes sex abuse is a very real and a very bad thing but so is telling false information to make things appear 100 time worse than things really are. Politicians and the media and special intrest groups are some of the worst to make up false information to get more funding,special programs, donations,get tough on crime platforms and don't forget the prison guard /law enforcement unions wanting higher wages and more bennys for its members.The Sex Offender Industry is a billion dollar a year industry just like big tobacco and big alcohol.
No one is saying get rid of the registration for the worst of the worst the sexual violent predators the ones who have an emotional sexual disorders who can not control or stop their sexual wants needs or desires and who will not stop no matter what the punishment but predators are only three percent of all persons charged with some sort of sex crime The State of California, the state that started all this insanity back in 1947-48 even now through the State of California Sex Offender Management Board admitts to,supports and aggrees that if it was not for the law itself over 25 percent would not have to register in the first place. So go ahead GOOGLE sex offender Myths and learn something
It is indeed a witch hunt, and because we can't exactly pull out actual pitchforks and torches and burn people at the stake any more, lawmakers have to make new laws that restrict people and violate their constitutional rights.
They do not care that the person was set up or has no intention of re offending or whatever the case might be. It is all about making themselves look like heroes. The sex offender registry laws need to be revised so that people who do not deserve to have their rights violated aren't subjected to the violation. Make only the repeat offenders have to register. Hell if they end up repeating make the sentence harder for repeat offenders.
Not everyone convicted of a sex offence is a sex offender either. People lie. A person gets mad and wants to get back at the person that they are mad at so what do they do? They go to the police and tell them that they are being molested by that person. Police automaticly think that he or she is guilty so they don't care about the truth, because they already "know" the truth. They then arrest the person and charge them with the sex offence.
They are lucky if they can afford their own lawyer because if they are saddled with a court appointed one then they now have a lawyer who gets paid by the same people trying to convict him and the assistant DA just wants to advance his career.
These are the people we need to be protecting against such laws not the actual sick perverts that are drooling as they watch our children walk don the street. These perverts are the ones who should be banned from gaming and facebook and freedom.
We live next to a sex offender. He is a registered sex offender and to us it is disturbing that he is also getting away with bullying, uttering sexual obscenities and nobody is doing anything about it. We even have it on tape. He also bullies in a different way and it seems most people don't want to be involved so he can keep going on. We have proof of what we are saying and lately started to video tape everything. It seems as a neighbor you are on your own. His son got probation after trying to hit me with his car and was charged with reckless driving...the sex offender was enabling his son and was the one who initiated this behavior with trying to hit me with a base ball bat, trying to hit me with his car while his son was next to him the car. His son got caught and sentenced for more things like trespassing, grand theft and even if you google stealing manhole covers red handed then you see who it is. The daughter was arrested on kidnapping charges and we are talking about a decent community. The sex offender bought his home for approx $350,000 and it was shocking to get a person like that next to us...it would have been fine if he behaved and tried to live under the radar as you would expect. Even more disturbing is that this sex offender is installing intel/mitel communication and VOIP and Internet related items like webcams in peoples home since according to sunbiz.org he is named on that site as being part of the business and he has installed cameras on his house and is always messing with internet related items and cables. Nice to get a sex offender in your home for installing webcams while you have kids in your house and aren't aware. He calls himself certified which in this case means sex offender allowed to come into your house to be able to install whatever and hope for the best. I wish the laws would be more strict since this is disturbing. He is bullying us 24/7 and the HOA doesn't even do anything since he scares everyone and it is easier for them to say that we have to solve it than for them to be part of things while he is violating the code of conduct by almost every line on that page. The police is stating it is a HOA issue and that makes the circle go round and round and a registered sex offender and bully be able to do what he is best in doing...cursing and using sexual language when he is uttering the obscenities which again we have on tape but that doesn't seems to be a crime...but to us it shows this man has aside from anger issues, still sexual issues otherwise these words wouldn't be on his mind in every occasion he can curse and yell. He just started to do it front of our son and in front of my husband...before it was just something he did when I was by myself so he seems to have real issues with women. He is a registered sex offender since 1986 and it is strange that he is only registered over here since 2011 while he lives next to us since 2005 so what happened...did he fail to register and got away with that for years as well.? Scary thought!
It would seem that the "Tamara" story is fabricated.... Sorry, too much Scary "them", and no information on what YOU are doing to provoke..
I myself am a level 2 according to New York State, back in 1993 I was 22 years old, my brother who was 13 at the time...he and a few friends of his ran a train on the victim, the victim had a crush on me, but I just recently got married to my first wife who at the time was 44 years old. I took the blame for my brother, to this day I remain on the registry. Every time I try to challenge the level, I'm told if I proceed "they" ( the court system ) will make me a level 3. I was convicted of Rape 2nd. How does a court in New York State convict someone without any physical evidence?
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