A high-risk sex offender has been told to stay away from schools in the Kenmore-Town of Tonawanda School District, where he has been spotted at boys’ athletic events.
School Superintendent Mark P. Mondanaro sent a letter this week to Dennis Woodard of Kenmore, barring him from school property. It’s the only legal option available.
“He doesn’t even have probation anymore,” said Kenmore Police Chief Carl J. LaCorte. “He served his time.”
But as a Level 3, or high-risk, offender, Woodard will remain on the state’s sex offender registry for the rest of his life. Every year, he’s required to register in person at the local police department and have a photograph taken.
A former elementary school science teacher and coach in Central New York, Woodard, 65, was arrested in 1993 on federal charges that he sold pornographic videos and photos of young boys. He subsequently pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography and sexually exploiting a youth, and spent more than a decade in prison on that conviction and a parole violation.
Woodard moved to Kenmore, where his parents lived, several years ago.
“It’s sacred ground, to the point where simple trespass on the outside . . . is a misdemeanor because it’s a school,” the police chief said. Conviction on a misdemeanor count of trespass carries a maximum penalty of a year in jail.
Parents had notified police and district officials about Woodard’s presence at swimming meets and wrestling matches.
“I [saw] him at the last swim meet,” said Pam Coniglio, referring to an event Tuesday at Kenmore West High School. Her son, Tyler, is on Kenmore East’s swimming team.
“The idea of this guy looking at my son in a swimming suit . . .,” she said Friday. “He has no kids on the swim team. He has no reason to be there.”
She said she called the superintendent Wednesday and he took immediate action.
“We heard it from a parent. The superintendent got right on it,” Michael B. Haggerty, a district spokesman, said Friday.
“I would like to prevent something before it happens to any kid,” she said.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Man arrested for allegedly photographing girls at Mid-Valley Academy restroom
Yet another reason why sex offenders should NEVER be allowed on school grounds.
A registered sex offender was arrested Wednesday after he confessed to using a digital camera to photograph young girls inside a Mid-Valley Academy restroom, police said.
Two teenage girls, students at the charter school, told police they saw a camera lens in the ceiling above a toilet on Dec. 5, according to a police report.
Police arrested San Benito resident Jose Trinidad Sauceda, 46, police Lt. Martin Morales said. Sauceda, an employee of Lopez Air Conditioning in Harlingen, is charged with two counts of improper photographing/visual recording.
Morales said Sauceda became a registered sex offender in March 2005.
Morales said Sauceda fabricated a reason to visit the school last week.
Mid-Valley Academy Principal Daniel Garcia reported to police that a worker from Lopez Air Conditioning had come to the school on Dec. 4 to install insulation around pipes in the attic.
According to a police report, Lopez Air Conditioning did not know Sauceda had visited the school that week and a work order was not issued.
"The suspect did not have any business at the school," Morales said. "He basically made up a reason to be there."
"He did admit to everything," Morales said. "He did not deny allegations."
Um, lock up this perv!
A registered sex offender was arrested Wednesday after he confessed to using a digital camera to photograph young girls inside a Mid-Valley Academy restroom, police said.
Two teenage girls, students at the charter school, told police they saw a camera lens in the ceiling above a toilet on Dec. 5, according to a police report.
Police arrested San Benito resident Jose Trinidad Sauceda, 46, police Lt. Martin Morales said. Sauceda, an employee of Lopez Air Conditioning in Harlingen, is charged with two counts of improper photographing/visual recording.
Morales said Sauceda became a registered sex offender in March 2005.
Morales said Sauceda fabricated a reason to visit the school last week.
Mid-Valley Academy Principal Daniel Garcia reported to police that a worker from Lopez Air Conditioning had come to the school on Dec. 4 to install insulation around pipes in the attic.
According to a police report, Lopez Air Conditioning did not know Sauceda had visited the school that week and a work order was not issued.
"The suspect did not have any business at the school," Morales said. "He basically made up a reason to be there."
"He did admit to everything," Morales said. "He did not deny allegations."
Um, lock up this perv!
Saturday, December 6, 2008
School Intruder Was Convicted Sex Offender
The man police say barricaded himself in a High Point Elementary School closet Tuesday is a convicted sex offender with a history of violent behavior and mental illness documented in police and court records
William Gerald Skaggs, 35, of Bristol, Tenn., was convicted of statutory rape in 1995, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s statewide sex offender registry. He also has been convicted of disorderly conduct after knocking over a hospital bed and twice for assault following fights with his girlfriends.
On Tuesday, police charged Skaggs with trespassing, disorderly conduct and other crimes after arresting him at High Point. His presence at High Point along with two other men sparked a tense two-hour lockdown that has school officials wondering how much security is enough.
“What I saw [Tuesday] was something I hadn’t really thought about,” said Alan Lee, Washington County’s superintendent of public schools.
The schools already keep all but the front doors locked during classes, but Lee said Wednesday that more security might be needed.
“For the peace of mind it would give the people in our buildings, it would be worth it,” he said.
William Gerald Skaggs, 35, of Bristol, Tenn., was convicted of statutory rape in 1995, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s statewide sex offender registry. He also has been convicted of disorderly conduct after knocking over a hospital bed and twice for assault following fights with his girlfriends.
On Tuesday, police charged Skaggs with trespassing, disorderly conduct and other crimes after arresting him at High Point. His presence at High Point along with two other men sparked a tense two-hour lockdown that has school officials wondering how much security is enough.
“What I saw [Tuesday] was something I hadn’t really thought about,” said Alan Lee, Washington County’s superintendent of public schools.
The schools already keep all but the front doors locked during classes, but Lee said Wednesday that more security might be needed.
“For the peace of mind it would give the people in our buildings, it would be worth it,” he said.
Sex offender arrested in playground
A homeless sex offender found urinating and drinking in a playground adjacent to Collins Middle School as students were being dismissed Wednesday morning is being held on $1,000 cash bail.
William Rivera, 50, was arrested shortly after 11 a.m. the day before Thanksgiving on charges that include open and gross lewdness and public drinking.
Police got a call from someone who said they saw the man in the playground on Broad Street, Salem police Lt. Conrad Prosniewski said.
The caller was not aware that Rivera has a 1997 conviction on his record for lewd and lascivious conduct with a child under 16, according to the Florida sex offender registry. Rivera has also lived in Chicago.
But the caller did know that students were outside in groups and that Rivera was in plain view, Prosniewski said.
William Rivera, 50, was arrested shortly after 11 a.m. the day before Thanksgiving on charges that include open and gross lewdness and public drinking.
Police got a call from someone who said they saw the man in the playground on Broad Street, Salem police Lt. Conrad Prosniewski said.
The caller was not aware that Rivera has a 1997 conviction on his record for lewd and lascivious conduct with a child under 16, according to the Florida sex offender registry. Rivera has also lived in Chicago.
But the caller did know that students were outside in groups and that Rivera was in plain view, Prosniewski said.
Sex Offenders Banned From Children's Gathering Spots
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The law as it relates to sex offenders is long and complicated, and in Mecklenburg County it zeroes in on where over 700 local registered sex offenders can legally go.
They're already restricted from parks, and as of Monday, they can't come within 300 feet of any places where minors normally gather, such as the play areas at some local restaurants.
“(If) they're sitting near the door of that play area or really anywhere in that facility, they're violating the law,” said Mecklenburg County Sheriff Chipp Bailey.
They're already restricted from parks, and as of Monday, they can't come within 300 feet of any places where minors normally gather, such as the play areas at some local restaurants.
“(If) they're sitting near the door of that play area or really anywhere in that facility, they're violating the law,” said Mecklenburg County Sheriff Chipp Bailey.
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