Sex offenders get boot from Bayside hotel
Offi cials confi rm departure of registered predators from Anchor Inn after public backlash
The Anchor Inn Motel Photo: Carlotta Mohamed/TIMESLEDGER
They had stressed concerns
of their children attending
the Learning Experience’s
Academy of Early Education,
located across the street from
the hotel, and illicit activity
conducted on the premises
late at night.
According to the
Department of Criminal
Justice, the Sex Offender
Registration Act does not
restrict where a registered sex
offender may live. However, if
the offender is under parole
or probation supervision,
other New York state laws
may limit the offender from
living within 1,000 feet of a
school or other facility caring
for children.
In a statement to
TimesLedger, a DOCCS
spokesman said the men were
re-located to the Anchor Inn,
which is compliant with the
state’s Sexual Assault Reform
Act (SARA) restrictions,
following the closure of their
previous transitional housing
by New York City agencies.
The local lawmakers had
blasted city officials whose
decision-making brought the
sex offenders within close
proximity of the pre-school and
demanded full accountability
of the placement in a familyfriendly
neighborhood.
“It’s always a cause for
concern when sex offenders are
placed in a community, but it
becomes truly alarming when
their crimes are particularly
heinous and violent,”
said Vallone.
Reach reporter Carlotta
Mohamed by email at
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.
com or by phone at (718)
260–4526.
Flushing man guilty of Kissena Park attacks
BY MAX PARROTT
A Flushing man admitted
to committing knifepoint
sexual attacks on two women
in Kissena Park, Chief
Assistant District Attorney
John Ryan announced on
April 10.
Charles Tobin, 31, of
Kissena Boulevard pleaded
guilty to first-degree rape
and first-degree sexual abuse
for two separate attacks on
consecutive days in July
2017.
Sentencing was set for
May 14, at which time Tobin
will be sentenced to 15
years in prison to be
followed by 10 years’ postrelease
supervision.
Photo via Wikimedia Commons / Raman Patel
According to the charges,
Tobin held up a 32-year-old
woman at knifepoint around
11 p.m. on July 18, 2017, in
Kissena Park and demanded
money. After the victim gave
him cash from her purse, he
forced her to perform a sex act
and raped her at knifepoint.
In the second incident,
Tobin also held a knife to
a 17-year-old female jogger
around 11 p.m. the following
night in the park, according
to the charges. When the
teenager said that she had
no money, Tobin proceeded
to force her to perform a
sex act as he held a knife
to her neck.
“The city’s parks should
be a safe place to visit on any
day at any time of the day.
This defendant, however,
made this peaceful green
space a terrifying place for
women,” said Ryan.
Reach reporter Max
Parrott by email at mparrott@
schnepsmedia.com or by phone
at (718) 224-5863, ext. 226.
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
Eight sex offenders who
were living at the Anchor
Inn Motel in Bayside have
been removed from the site,
according to an official from
the New York City Department
of Housing Preservation
and Development (HPD).
“We all must work together
to help formerly incarcerated
people reintegrate into
society,” a HPD spokeswoman
said. “None of the parolees
are currently residing at the
hotel. The city is working
with the State Department of
Corrections (DOCCS) to find
these individuals housing.”
The individuals had
been vacated from another
residence for unsafe
conditions, and HPD stepped
in to provide relocation
services. According to HPD,
“The Red Cross has an
agreement with the hotel
where the individuals were
placed temporarily, but they
have since left.”
The relocation of the sex
offenders comes after state
Senator John Liu joined by
Assembly members Nily
Rozic and Ed Braunstein and
City Councilmember Paul
Vallone on April 4 called
for immediate removal of the
individuals by the DOCCS at
the Anchor Inn Motel, located
at 215-34 Northern Blvd.
“Nothing trumps the
safety and security for our
families, especially the
protection of young children,
and these individuals must
be moved out immediately,”
said Liu. “We also demand a
clear accounting of how this
happened in the first place so
it doesn’t get repeated.”
The eight registered sex
offenders are listed on the
New York State Division of
Criminal Justice Services sex
offender registry. They are
men who range in age from 33
to 66. Four of the individuals
were said to be level 3, sexually
violent offenders.
When QNS had contacted
the Anchor Inn Motel for
confirmation, a businessman
claimed they knew nothing
about the men living on
the premises.
Parents living within the
vicinity of the motel were
alerted by Parents for Megan’s
Law, a Long Island based
group dedicated to preventing
child sex abuse.
TIMESLEDGER,QNS.COM APR. 19-25, 2019 3
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