The Town's decision to post sex offenders on this website is based on the fact that the sex offender was convicted of a sex offense in the past. The Town of Amherst has not assessed the specific risk posed by any particular individual sex offender or class of sex offenders and has made no determination regarding the current dangerousness or degree of dangerousness of any individual sex offender or class of sex offenders. The main purpose of providing this data on the Internet is to make the information more easily available and accessible, not to warn about any specific individual.
The Sex Offender Registration Act, New York's version of Megan's Law, was signed by Governor George E. Pataki in July 1995 and became effective on January 21, 1996. The text of the statute is contained in Correction Law Article 6-C (Section 168 et seq.).
Upon release to the community following a conviction for a registerable offense, the sex offender is required to register with the Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS). In order to determine the level of community notification and duration of registration, a hearing is held by the sentencing court. After examining the facts in the particular case, including, but not limited to, the use of force, weapons, alcohol or drugs, victim's age, number of victims, assault or injury of the victim and relationship to the victim, the court makes a determination regarding the offender's level of notification, commonly called the risk level. The risk level is based on the court's assessment as to whether a particular offender is likely to repeat the same or similar registerable offense and the danger the offender poses to the community. Because the risk level reflects factors unique to a particular sex offender, offenders convicted of the same offense may receive different risk levels.
The court may assign one of the following three risk levels. The risk level governs the amount and type of information which can be released as community notification. (Note: In the interim period between registration and the risk level hearing, the offender's risk level may be referred to as "pending" and information about the offender may only be released in accordance with the standards for a low risk offender).
Level I (low risk of repeat offense), or
Level II (moderate risk of repeat offense), or
Level III (high risk of repeat offense and a threat to public safety exists).
Special concerns or questions regarding offenders in Amherst please contact Detective Sergeant Michael Torrillo by email or phone 716.689.1344.
Notice to Parents
It is important to remember that many sex crimes (especially crimes against children) go unreported. Of the cases that are reported, many cannot be prosecuted for a variety of reasons. Although SORA is a powerful tool for making communities safer, it only provides information on a small population of all potential sex offenders living in the community.
- Do not infer a false sense of security from the limited information contained in any notifications about sex offenders living in your community.
- If you are a parent, you should always know, and feel comfortable with, the person(s) who has unsupervised access to your child. Never assume that because someone you know is not on a list of known sex offenders that there is nothing to worry about.
How to Obtain Information about
Sex Offenders Living in Your
Neighborhood
Level I Sex Offenders (or those with a pending risk level) residing in the Town of Amherst by zipcode
Level II Sex Offenders residing in the Town of Amherst by zipcode
Level III Sex Offenders residing in the Town of Amherst by zipcode
The Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) is barred by law from posting information on Level 1 Sex Offenders, or those with a pending risk level, on their public site. However, while DCJS cannot tell you if there are any Level 1 sex offenders or sex offenders with a pending risk level in your neighborhood or who they are, DCJS can tell you if a particular individual is on the registry. Call DCJS at 1.800.262.3257 with the name and at least one other identifier (an exact address, date of birth, driver’s license number, or a social security number) and DCJS will tell you if that individual is a registered sex offender in New York.
You can also visit the NY State Division of Criminal Justice Services website to search for Level 2 and Level 3 Sex Offenders. | 
