Convicted sex offender faces charges after traffic stop with 16-year-old in car

Musmacker, who is facing a maximum of 15 years, was arrested Dec. 28 after New York State Trooper Randy Smith pulled him over for speeding near exit 36 in West Babylon on the Southern State Parkway.
"He was tailgating, speeding and committing certain vehicle and traffic violations that caused the trooper to bring his attention to the car," said Suffolk County Assistant District Attorney Dana Brown. Musmacker was ticketed for speeding and other traffic infractions, police said.
During the traffic stop, the trooper noticed Musmacker's pant belt or belt buckle was undone. "This caused the trooper to investigate further," Brown said, explaining the trooper thought it was suspicious because a passenger in the car was a non-related 16-year-old boy.
"It was through the investigation and the troopers' questioning that ultimately we learned this person was having sex with the kid that was in the car, who was a minor, not at that particular time but in the past," said New York State Police Senior Investigator, John Lang.
Lang said that during questioning Musmacker, "verbally admitted to having AIDS." The minor, who lives in Suffolk, was unaware that Musmacker had AIDS, according to Brown. Musmacker was charged with reckless endangerment, for having sex with a minor while having full-blown AIDS.
Musmacker, who works as a newspaper deliveryman in Suffolk County, is one of seven registered sex offenders living in Oceanside. He served six years in Attica State Prison during the early 90's after pleading guilty to the first-degree sodomy of a 6-year-old relative. At the time Musmacker was a resident of Franklin Square. The conditions of Musmacker's parole, as a level-three sex offender -- which is considered by the state to have the highest risk of repeat offense -- required him to report to police headquarters every 90 days, in addition to restrictions regarding how close he could live to schools and parks.
"He could be anywhere between those 90 days [when he reports to police headquarters]," said Lt. Richard Zito, who heads the Nassau County Police Department special victims unit. "Musmacker is doing what he is required to do under Megan's Law," Zito said, "but you can't be with those guys seven days a week and some of them take advantage of it."
Zito said Musmacker changed addresses several times from Nassau to Suffolk County. "He always put in a change of address and showed up for his appointments and annual photo update," Zito said. "As far as Megan's Law, he was in compliance."
The minor in the car may not be Musmacker's only victim. "The investigation is on-going," Lang said, indicating investigators believe Musmacker may have had sexual contact with other teens. If other victims step forward, Musmacker could be facing more jail time. His next court date is Feb. 3. "Unfortunately, these kids were out for hours at a time and whether they lied to [their parents] or not, parents need to check up on them and call the parents of friends and make sure they are going over there," Zito said.
Sudden changes in behavior or a sharp drop in school grades could signal a teen going through difficulties, Zito said. "Parents need to be aware of things like that," Zito said.
He also stressed the importance of monitoring Internet contact.
"You don't want your kids to be fearful of everybody," Zito said, "But you need to make sure you know where they are and who they are playing with."
New York State Police request anyone who has information or has had sexual contact with Musmacker contact the Major Case Bureau at 631-756-3390. Calls will be kept confidential.
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