State Senator Wants To Restrict Social Media For Sex Offenders

KATONAH, NY — A Hudson Valley state senator wants to update the New York law requiring convicted sex offenders to register with the state.

Senator Terrence Murphy, R-Yorktown, said it was time to update the 20-year-old Megan’s Law to restrict registered sex offenders’ use of social media.

Murphy proposed the legislation in the wake of the recent arrest of Katonah’s David Ohnmacht, a registered sex offender, who was accused March 13 of sexually exploiting a minor.

Law enforcement officials said Ohnmacht, 36, allegedly convinced a girl to send him sexually explicit videos of herself and threatened to release it to her friends if she didn’t continue to send videos to him.

“Megan’s Law must be updated to prohibit the use of social media networks for Level 2 and 3 offenders as long as they are required to register with New York State,” Murphy said.

“As a father of three kids, I will fight everyday to strengthen our laws to make sure we protect children from becoming victims of these reprehensible and disgusting acts,” he said.

Murphy was a sponsor of victim safety zone legislation which would have prohibited sex offenders from living with 1,500 feet of their victim. That bill passed the Senate in 2015, but was not brought to the floor in the Assembly.

The senator said he intends to hold several roundtables with state and local law enforcement, social services and advocates to see what other provisions needed to be expanded.

Photo credit: Submitted.