By Michelle Sellers

Since last month, parents in Southeast Queens have been on alert, on edge and on the lookout for those responsible in a rash of incidents outside local schools involving unwanted sexual advances directed towards children.

Last month at P.S. 223, parents, police, school board members and concerned residents met to address several reports of incidents of unidentified men acting inappropriately towards children walking to and from schools in Southeast Queens.

According to police, the incidents took place near P.S. 223 in South Ozone Park, P.S. 136 in St. Albans and P.S. 15 in Springfield Gardens.

At P.S. 15, four 11-year old girls were approached by a man who exposed himself, police said.

Two separate incidents also occurred in March near P.S. 223 in South Ozone Park, according to police.

The first incident took place on March 15 when a man allegedly exposed himself to students outside the school.

By logging onto www.criminaljustice.state.ny.us and filling out the online inquirer form, parents can learn more about the registered sex offenders living in their neighborhood.

A second incident followed soon after when police said a man drove up to students in a van and asked them to take a ride with them.

In recent weeks police have arrested three individuals on charges of public lewdness, however investigators in the NYPD’s Sex Crime Unit have yet to determine if the men they arrested were involved in the incidents near P.S. 223, P.S. 136 and P.S. 15.

Since the incidents, police have stepped up security near area schools and have assigned patrols and plainclothes officers in unmarked cars to watch students as they make their way to and from school.

On March 20, police arrested and filed charges against a Brooklyn man who was “caught in the act” on “231st Street and 87th Ave.,” exposing himself to children on their way to school, according to the Queens District Attorney’s office. 

The man was charged with endangering the welfare of a child, public lewdness and exposure.

On March 25, a second Brooklyn man was arrested on charges of public lewdness after two girls, ages 16 and 17, told police the man “flashed” them as they walked to school at 6:50 a.m. along Rockaway Boulevard near 142nd Street in South Ozone Park.

Also on March 25, a registered sex offender was arrested for public lewdness near 87th Place in Jamaica following reported incidents on March 4 and March 19, police said.

The recent reports of lewd incidents in Southeast Queens have sparked concern among the parents of students at area schools.

A parent of one of the students involved in one of the recent incidents has called upon police and school officials to give added attention to keeping students safe.

“We need help from the authorities, from the school and from the precinct,” said Joyce Betran, a parent of a student involved in one of the incidents near P.S. 223.

After being followed for two blocks, “my daughter [age 10] ran into a local store that we frequent and stayed there until the car was gone,” Betran said. “After that, she ran home and called me at work hysterically.  I rushed home, then we went to the local precinct.”

School Board 27 Superintendent Mathew Bromme, said following the March incidents “Anytime a child reports someone confronts them and feels threatened, the principal calls parents and the police department, then the school board.”

One concerned parent has organized a patrol of the vicinity surrounding the school grounds at P.S. 223 in addition to the police presence.

 Aziz Uddin Bilal, an imam at the nearby Masjid Al-Hamdu-Lillah mosque, said  that “security for the mosque will patrol from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. We are going to be here until June. We’re here for the community,” in South Ozone Park. Although the principal [of PS 223] has not reached out to us, we would like to organize with the PTA and other community members.”

The sexual assault of a New Jersey girl named Megan Kanka in 1994 provides that the public be informed of sexual offenders residing in their community. 

Under the 1990 Federal Community Protection Act, residents can access information of any man or woman convicted of a sexual act regardless of the victim’s age. 

The law was adopted on May 17, 1996 under the Clinton Administration.

To learn if an individual is a registered sexual offender you must know the person’s name, and either an address, driver’s license number, social security number or date of birth.

Any person wanting information on a convicted sexual offender who may have committed an act before January 21, 1996, will only be told the level of risk of the re-offense in question.

Each month the State Division of Criminal Justice publishes a listing of level three – the highest level of offense — offenders, and then distributes information to local police precincts.  The precinct then gives the information to schools, city council and civic organizations, according to police.

The sex offender registry is modeled upon the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act established in 1994 to announce any person convicted of “enumerated sex offenses or sexually violent offenses,” according to the Division of Criminal Justice website.

However, offenders who committed crimes less than a level three, which is the highest offense, can not be included in the registry’s sub-directory after a U.S. District Court injunction issued in May of 1998. 

In the event an offender fails to register, the penalty is a class A misdemeanor for the first offense and a class D felony for the second or subsequent offense, according to the State Division of Criminal Justice. 

If a person is on parole or probation and does not comply, these privileges can be revoked.

To access a registry of sexual offenders by state log on to:www.criminaljustice.state.ny.us.

The New York State Division of Criminal Justice offers the following tips to prevent children from becoming the victims of a sexual predator:

• Never leave children unattended; not even for a minute.

• Be familiar with friends, friends of parent/guardian and daily activities.

• Remind older children to call home or come home at dark.

• Be sensitive to changes in child’s behavior.

• Be alert to an older child or adult paying unusual attention to a child or giving them gifts.

• Teach the child to trust their feelings and respect their right to say ‘no.’

• Be careful about babysitters, any individuals with custody of children by checking references, tactfully making unannounced visits, ensure they understand the child is not to be released to any one else unless discussed in advance.

• Avoid putting child’s name in visible places, for example, clothing, backpack, lunch box, or bicycle.

• Don’t allow child to solicit (door-to-door), even for a fundraiser.

Southeast Queens residents can access New York State’s registry of sexual offenders by logging on to:

www.criminaljustice.state.ny.us. or calling (900) 288-3838

The Klass Kids Foundation also offers information on sexual offenders that includes aliases, date of birth, sex, race, height, weight, offense, internet accounts and screen names. 

The Klass Kids Foundation, can be accessed by logging on to www.klasskids.org.

Additional information about sexual predators can be found at www.forsarah.com.