Victim's Rights & Information
Court Appearances
Court appearances are scheduled by the court and may be adjourned at the request of the defense, sometimes with little or no notice to the District Attorney's Office. If you wish to stay informed of upcoming court appearances on a particular case, please contact the court directly. If the case is pending in the Oswego City Court or the Fulton City Court, you may look up scheduled court appearances through the Unified Court System web site.
Victim Impact Statements
Victim impact statements are written or oral information from crime victims, in their own words, about how a crime has affected them. The purpose of victim impact statements is to allow crime victims, during the decision-making process on sentencing or parole, to describe to the court or parole board the impact of the crime. A judge may use information from these statements to help determine an offender's sentence. A parole board may use such information to help decide whether to grant a parole and what conditions to impose in releasing an offender.
Victim impact statements may provide information about damage to victims that would otherwise have been unavailable to courts or parole boards. Victims are often not called to testify in court, and if they testify, they must respond to narrow, specific questions. Victim impact statements are often the victims' opportunity to participate in the criminal justice process or to confront the offenders who have harmed them. Many victims report that making such statements improves their satisfaction with the criminal justice process and helps them recover from the crime. Please complete the victim impact form by clicking here, and send the completed form to the Oswego County District Attorney's Office.
Order of Protection
An order of protection is issued by the court. Only the court may modify or vacate an order of protection. If you would like to have an order of protection modified or vacated, please write a letter detailing what you would like to happen and have the letter notarized, then send it to our office. The court will decide whether or not the order of protection can be modified or vacated. Please understand that it is up to the court, and just because you would like the order of protection modified or vacated does not mean the court will decide in your favor.
Services to Aid Families (SAF)
SAF provides residential and non-residential services to survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, elder abuse and stalking, as well as crime victims. Services are designed to assist and empower survivors. For additional Information, contact:
75 E. 1st St.
Midtown Plaza, Lower Level
Oswego, NY 13126
Phone: 315-342-7532
Crisis Hotline: 315-342-1600
Toll-free: 877-342-7618
Web site: https://www.domesticshelters.org/help/ny/oswego/13126/oco-inc-SAF-program
Child Advocacy Center (CAC)
The Child Advocacy Center of Oswego County is a safe, child-friendly place. Agencies and services are brought together in one child-friendly setting that is non-threatening and physically and psychologically safe for children of all ages. In doing so, the intent is to minimize unnecessary interviews of children and the discomfort and embarrassment that talk about abuse can cause. For additional information, contact:
163 S. 1st St.
Fulton, NY 13069
Pulaski Office
35850 NYS-13
Pulaski, NY 13142
Web site: http://www.oswegocac.org/
Phone: 315-592-4453
VINE NY
Crime victims can now make toll-free calls to get information about convicted felony offenders in the custody of the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS), New York State's prison system or on parole. Information can be obtained for free through Victim Information and Notification Everyday (VINE), available around-the-clock in both English and Spanish.
VINE was enacted by the state Legislature in 1998 as part of then-Governor Pataki's Jenna's Law, which ended discretionary parole for first-time violent felony offenders. This law authorizes crime victims to receive information relating to the crime, sentence, release date, and area of release for inmates and parolees. To get information, you must call VINE from a touch tone phone at 888-VINE-4-NY and provide the offender's NYSID number OR full name and date of birth OR DOCCS identification number. For additional information, contact:
Office of Victim Services
The Harriman State Campus
1220 Washington Ave.
Albany, NY 12226-2050
Phone: 800-783-6059
Web site: https://www.vinelink.com/#/home