The Catskill Chronicle

Sullivan County District Attorney Jim Farrell today announced the results of a countywide initiative to ensure compliance with New York’s Sex Offender Registration Act (commonly known as Megan’s Law). 

In conjunction with the United States Marshals Service for the Southern District of New York, the New York State Police, the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Department, the Village of Liberty Police, the Village of Monticello Police, the Town of Fallsburg Police, the Sullivan County Probation Department and the Sullivan County District Attorney’s Office Operation Northern Watch kicked off last week. 

Using Sullivan County’s Fire Training Facility in Sawn Lake as a base of operations, seven different teams of law enforcement professionals fanned out across Sullivan County to ensure that the sex offenders living in the county were in full compliance with the requirements of New York law. 

The results of the successful operation were as follows:

· Law enforcement officers made 168 address verification visits;

· Every known sex offender was visited by officers last week;

· 7 offenders are currently being sought as their whereabouts are unknown and they are in direct violation of the law. Each of these individuals are being actively sought by county law enforcement and the United Marshals Service;

· 12 individuals were arrested, including:

1.  Michael McCabe, a level 3 offender, Village of Liberty – arrested on Child Pornography charges and failure to register and verify internet accounts and identifiers;

2. Michael Harris, a level 3 offender, previously of Livingston Manor, arrested in New Haven, CT and charged federally with violating the Adam Walsh Act (Failure to Register as a Sex Offender, 18 USC 2250);

3. Anthony Marsh, a level 2 offender, believed to have been living in Jeffersonville, NY, arrested in South Hackensack, NJ for violating the Adam Walsh Act. Marsh was wanted in Orange County for failure to register;

4. Anibal Trujillo, a level 2 offender, arrested in Monticello for Failure to Register;

5. George Clauston, a level 3 offender, arrested for parole violation and will be charged with Failure to Register;

6. Charles Foreman, of Hurleyville, Ralph Morin of Kiamesha Lake, Christopher Colvill of Monticello, James Jones, of Monticello, Alexander Miller of Monticello were all arrested on non-sex offender warrants for other crimes;

7. Anna Misner of Monticello was arrested for Obstructing Governmental Administration after she tried to prevent officers from arresting Christopher Colvill;

8. Cathryn Hughes of Milford, PA was arrested in New Jersey on several warrants after she was found hiding with Anthony Marsh.

Farrell praised the cooperation between the many law enforcement agencies and the commitment from each local agency to ensure compliance with the law, “I want to thank Chief Simmie Williams of Fallsburg, Chief Doug Solomon of Monticello, Chief Rob Mir of Liberty, Sheriff Mike Schiff, Captain Keith Corlett of the State Police and Sullivan County Probation Director Jeffrey Mulinelli for their active engagement in this process. I also want to thank the US Marshals Service and Senior Inspector Nick Ricigliano for their commitment to ensuring the safety of our community here in Sullivan County.”

The New York version of Megan’s Law was passed to ensure that the community and law enforcement know where the most serious predators and sex offenders live. “Our initiative last week has been pro-active, not waiting for tragedy to strike, but making sure these sex offenders are in compliance with the law. Those not in compliance have been or will be charged criminally and prosecution will occur in both state and federal court. I was extremely pleased with the results of the operation, many of the sex offenders living in our county were found to be in compliance. That’s a good thing, however, we will continue to ensure that sex offenders comply with the law and these types of checks will be ongoing to ensure the safety and security of our community. The message to sex offenders is clear – comply with the law as required because we are prepared to enforce it, both at the state and federal level,” Farrell said.