10 registered sex offenders living in one house in Bellport
BELLPORT, Long Island (WABC) -- There is outrage and concern in a community in Suffolk County over a house filled with registered sex offenders.
The house is on Walker Avenue in Bellport. Many of the men were placed there by the state, even though guidelines over their placement specifically prohibit that.
There are signs of problems on Walker Avenue, but no one could have imagined how many: ten registered sex offenders under one roof at number 936.
The men were put in the home by the local Department of Social Services, which then has to be approved by the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision
"And those registered sex offenders are the worst of the worst, so these are individuals that are sexually violent offenders and predicate offenders," said Laura Ahearn of Parents for Megan's Law.
For example one of the residents who lives there is a repeat offender who sexually abused 11-year-olds. Others are considered violent..
MUGSHOTS OF THE SEX OFFENDERS:
Their neighbors are horrified, too scared, even, to put their faces on camera Wednesday.
"I don't know what we as a community can do because there's a lot of kids here," one resident said. "We don't even get a bus here because we live less than a mile from the school."
The town of Brookhaven used to have a law which would have prohibited any home from having more than two of these offenders. However in 2015, the New York State Court of Appeals overturned that.
The Brookhaven Town Supervisor's Office released a statement Wednesday, saying they have "grave concerns" about the current situation, calling it "absolutely appalling that certain communities are stigmatized" in this way.
They say they "called on the state to quickly pass legislation to address this. But infuriatingly, this never occurred."
"And there's minor children right in that local neighborhood so we're very concerned," said Ahearn.
We reached out to both Suffolk County and the state, and late Wednesday a spokesman at the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision said they would work together to ensure public safety.
Ask residents and they say that won't happen unless a law is changed or someone moves out.
Department of Corrections and Community Supervision spokesperson Thomas Mailey released a statement:
"DOCCS is and will continue to intensively engage with the Suffolk County Executive, County Legislature, and the Department of Social Services (DSS) to ensure that community concerns with the placement of sex offenders are being addressed and that public safety is safeguarded."
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