The above marker is affixed to a memorial bench on the Pennsy Tracks walking trail dedicated to Penny Brown.

The convicted murderer of a Salamanca woman has been released from prison, but has not been released in Western New York.

The New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision said Edward Kindt, who was convicted for raping and murdering Penny Brown in Salamanca in 1999 when he was 15 years old, was released from prison Thursday and taken to Dutchess County.

It’s not clear if he’ll face parole-related restrictions. Kindt, who is Seneca, was recently banned from all Seneca Nation territories for at least a year.

Kindt, who is now 39, was granted parole on February 17 after being denied multiple times in the past. He was originally sentenced to nine years to life in prison until former State Senator Cathy Young helped pass Penny’s Law, which increased the second-degree murder sentence for someone under 16 years old to 15 years to life.

State Senator George Borrello released a statement, saying, “In a call this morning with the Department of Correction and Community Supervision (DOCCS) Acting Commissioner Anthony Annucci, I learned that killer Edward Kindt has been released on parole to an undisclosed location in Duchess County. While I am glad he has not been released into the community where he caused so much pain, this sexual predator and murderer remains a threat to the safety of all New Yorkers and should be spending the rest of his natural life behind bars. ”

Borrello added that he believes Governor Kathy Hochul should replace State Parole Board members with members “who will choose public safety over politics.”

On Monday Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision will restrict sex offenders under community supervision from using Pokémon GO and similar games.

In an effort to safeguard New York’s children, the Governor also sent a letter to software developer Niantic, Inc. requesting their assistance in prohibiting dangerous sexual predators from playing Pokémon GO.

At the Governor’s direction, DOCCS has imposed a new condition of parole for sex offenders under community supervision that will prohibit them from downloading, accessing, or otherwise engaging in any Internet enabled gaming activities, including Pokémon GO.

According to the governor, the directive will apply to nearly 3,000 Level 1, 2 and 3 sex offenders currently on parole.

Thomas DiNapoli

ALBANY – New York’s top financial watchdog says the state must do more to improve oversight of its most dangerous sex offenders.

State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli released an audit late last week that claims the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) is not adequately monitoring the state’s most dangerous sex offenders, often failing to make the minimum number of required monthly contacts and not performing mandated curfew checks.

The audit examined compliance with the state’s Sex Offender Management and Treatment Act (Act) at regional DOCCS offices in several areas of the state, including the Bronx, Brooklyn, Elmira, Albany, Rochester and Syracuse.

Under state regulations, DOCCS is responsible for closely monitoring sex offenders’ compliance with court-ordered conditions of their release.

Parole officers must make a minimum of six face-to-face supervision contacts per month, which includes two home visits and two curfew checks. In addition, officers must make six “collateral” contacts per month, such as meeting with a respondent’s mental health treatment provider. DOCCS also requires officers to obtain an updated digital photo of high-risk sex offender every 90 days and any time a respondent has a notable change of appearance, such as change of hairstyle or weight gain or loss.

DiNapoli’s audit, however, found the minimum total of six monthly face-to-face contacts did not occur in nearly a quarter of the 92 cases tested.

DOCCS officers also failed to perform required curfew checks in a quarter of the 92 cases.

Auditors also found only 38 percent of 113 required photo updates were done on time while 15 percent were more than a month late.

DiNapoli recommended DOCCS make adjustments to its procedures to ensure compliance with the Sex Offender Management and Treatment Act.

A copy of the final audit can be found at the comptroller’s website.