PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

December 15, 2004

Contact: William J. Smith (718) 556-7150

Staten Island’s Prosecutors Lead City in Convictions & Incarceration of “Megan’s Law” Violators

***D.A. Donovan Announces 100% Conviction & Incarceration Rate in 2004 ***

STATEN ISLAND, NY – Richmond County District Attorney Daniel M. Donovan, Jr. today announced that his office lead the entire City of New York in both conviction and incarceration rates for those arrested on Staten Island for failing to register as sex offenders under the terms of New York State’s “Megan’s Law.”

“My office takes very seriously the reporting requirements for dangerous sex offenders and the threat that they pose to our children,” stated District Attorney Donovan. “If a convicted sexual predator is released from prison and fails to register under Megan’s Law, we will hunt them down, prosecute them and see that they are convicted and returned to jail.”

The Office of the District Attorney was notified of its success rate at the December meeting of the New York City Sexual Assault Task Force. According to statistics provided by the State of New York’s Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS), as of November 4th, the Richmond County District Attorney’s office led the City of New York with a 100% incarceration rate for individuals convicted of Megan’s Law violations, far surpassing the 71% incarceration rate obtained by Bronx and Manhattan prosecutors. Richmond County shared the lead in conviction rate for such offenders with Queens County, tied at 100%. (For additional information, please see attached charts)

“I must commend the hard work and dedication of Yolanda L. Rudich, Chief of the Sex Crimes/Special Victims Bureau, the Deputy Bureau Chief Heidi Tannenbaum-Newman, as well as the Assistant District Attorneys and support staff of that bureau. Their commitment to protecting our children and success in prosecuting sexual predators is quantified in these statistics,” added District Attorney Donovan.

2004 ARREST & PROSECUTION OF MEGAN’S LAW VIOLATORS

2004 Stats	Bronx	Brooklyn	Manhattan	Staten Island	Queens
Total Arrests	22	36	44	9	15
Reported Dispositions	12	23	20	5	10
Conviction Rate	58%	48%	70%	100%	100%
Incarceration Rate	71%	9%	71%	100%	30%

Source: DCJS Data as of 11/4/04

2003 ARREST & PROSECUTION OF MEGAN’S LAW VIOLATORS

2003 Stats	Bronx	Brooklyn	Manhattan	Staten Island	Queens
Total Arrests	24	30	24	6	10
Reported Dispositions	17	27	18	6	10
Conviction Rate	88%	48%	89%	83%	70%
Incarceration Rate	87%	31%	88%	60%	60%

Source: DCJS Data as of 12/14/04

2002 ARREST & PROSECUTION OF MEGAN’S LAW VIOLATORS

2002 Stats	Bronx	Brooklyn	Manhattan	Staten Island	Queens
Total Arrests	16	19	13	1	18
Reported Dispositions	16	19	13	1	18
Conviction Rate	88%	79%	46%	100%	83%
Incarceration Rate	57%	20%	33%	0%	27%

Source: DCJS Data as of 12/14/04

CITY-WIDE FAILURE TO REGISTER ARRESTS OUTCOMES

DCJS Statistics	2002	2003	2004
Total Arrests	67	94	126
Reported Dispositions	67	78	70
Convictions	51 (76%)	56 (72%)	47 (67%)
Felony Convictions	2	1	1
Misdemeanor Convictions	46	77	46
Incarceration Rate	17 (33%)	38 (68%)	24 (51%)
Dismissals	15 (22%)	18 (19%)	20 (16%)

Source: DCJS Data as of 11/4/04