Sex offender to test Otsego child safety law

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February 1, 2012

BY JOE MAHONEY Staff Writer The Daily Star Wed Feb 01, 2012, 02:30 AM EST

COOPERSTOWN -- When Dennis and Aarona Rockwell rented a home on a side road off Chestnut Street in Cooperstown on Jan. 9, they contacted the Otsego County Sheriff's Department to let the agency know Dennis had a new address.

As a convicted sex offender who has lived in three states since his release from a New York state prison four years ago, Dennis Rockwell said Tuesday he is well aware of his legal obligations to report any change of address to the nearest law enforcement agency.

But whether Dennis Rockwell will get to stay in his new residence will be up to a special Child Safety Zone Review Committee, set up to evaluate applications for waivers to a county law that puts limits on where sex offenders can reside within Otsego County.

Because the home is within 1,000 feet of Badger Park, the Sheriff's Department reported to Cooperstown Central School District that a Level 3 sex offender -- a category denoting high risk -- was residing in the neighborhood. The school district, meanwhile, sent a letter to parents, repeating the information. It was a revelation that some parents found disturbing, Sheriff Richard Devlin Jr. said.

"We've gotten a lot of calls from village residents," Devlin said. Those callers, he said, contended that Dennis Rockwell should be arrested and held in violation of the child safety zone law that prohibits convicted sex offenders from living near parks, schools or places where children congregate.

But Devlin said he told them that, under that same county law, offenders found to be living within 1,000 feet of such places are given up to six months to relocate or apply for a waiver from the law.

"We sent them copies of the law to help them understand how the law works," said the sheriff, who is a member of the review committee that will evaluate Dennis Rockwell's request for a waiver.

The Rockwells said they have been married for 19 years. Both husband and wife said they are happy in their new home, and do not wish to move out. Dennis Rockwell, who turned 60 in December, said he does not go into Badger Park.

"I'm a homebody, always have been," he said. "I don't go walking around. I stay to myself."

According to state Department of Correctional Services records reviewed by The Daily Star, Dennis Rockwell was released from state prison in November 2006 after serving two years, four months and 16 days on a second-degree rape conviction in Chenango County.

Aarona Rockwell said both she and her husband were acquainted with the victim, a girl who was 14 years old at the time. Under the law in New York, a child less than 17 years of age cannot legally consent to sex. The Daily Star is not identifying the young woman.

Dennis Rockwell claimed that his encounter with the victim did not amount to rape. He said he pleaded guilty to the charge to spare her from testifying.

"I was thinking about her," he said. "I didn't want to put her through all this crap."

He also argued he was unfairly labeled a Level 3 offender, a status he said he is continuing to appeal with the goal of having it reduced to Level 1, considered the lowest risk of sexual offenders under New York's Sexual Offender Registration Act.

A native of Kingston, Dennis Rockwell said he grew up in Sullivan County. Until recently, the couple had been living in Tennessee, after a stint in Florida. Explaining why the couple picked Cooperstown as their new home, Aarona Rockwell said she and her husband like the community and noted, "I have relatives in Otsego County, Sullivan County -- all over the state."

The monthly rent for their new home -- a single-family, two-bedroom house -- is $850, plus utilities. Dennis Rockwell said he is a Navy veteran who served briefly in Vietnam, and collects disability benefits. In response to questions, Dennis Rockwell said he would be willing to meet with neighbors who have concerns about his new residence, but noted he did not wish to argue with anyone.

He said he poses no risk to community safety.

"I'm not looking to go back (to prison)," he said. "I know that as soon as something happens in the area, they're going to come looking for me."

The Daily Star reported last month that the Child Safety Zone Review Committee is considering asking the Board of Representatives to rescind the safety zone law. Some members said they believe the law could make offenders unstable by depriving them of homes and employment, and that could actually make them a greater risk to public safety.

There are also concerns that if a sex offender challenges the constitutionality of the law, it will be overturned, they said.

In 2009, after a similar law was enacted in Miami -- one that did not carry a waiver provision -- news reports documented that homeless sex offenders had begun setting up tents under bridges because they could not find places to live.

Aarona Rockwell said she hopes Otsego County scraps its child safety zone law. Noting her husband has been punished for his crime by being sent to prison, she said, "We should be allowed to live where we want to and not be harassed."

She said she and her husband have no plans to move.

Dennis Rockwell said he is applying for the waiver.

Devlin said the committee will consider any input that residents want to offer on the application.