VIGIL HONORS VICTIMS OF CRIME
Annual candlelight vigil is part of National Crime Victims’ Rights Week
MALTA, N.Y.>> Community members gathered over the weekend to recognize the area’s crime victims at a candlelight vigil.
The event, held on Sunday afternoon at St. Peter Lutheran Church in Malta, was the 18th annual Crime Victims’ Candlelight Vigil hosted by the Saratoga County District Attorney’s Office. This gathering served as a kickoff to the 2017 National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, held this Year from April 2 to 8 across the country. This week is meant for people throughout the United States to pause and recognize the victims of crimes who have endured situations that have forever affected their lives.
The local church vigil and many other events around the nation offer a time to reflect on these victims’ strength, resiliency and search for justice, which is the theme of the 2017 National Crime Victims’ Rights Week.
This annual observance is held to bring together communities and promote victims’ rights. It is also an opportunity to honor crime victims and those who ad-
vocate on their behalf.
This year’s “Strength, Resiliency and Search for Justice” theme builds on the efforts of many in the country, and within Saratoga County, to support crime victims. It emphasizes a vision of the future that includes providing crime victims information about their rights and services available, to promote healing and foster strength in crime victims and their families. Sunday’s vigil brought together community members from multiple disciplines and agencies that work collaboratively with victims of crime. The ceremony included remarks from local, county and state professionals who work regularly with victims.
Elizabeth Cronin, director of the New York State Office of Victim Services, called the event meaningful and moving for those affected by crime. It also brings attention to the services that can be critical for a victim’s ability to recover, she said during the ceremony.
“The people that we join with here today, the victims of crime, are on a journey, a lifelong journey dealing with the effects on their lives as a result of the criminal actions of another,” said Saratoga County District Attorney Karen Heggen. “We’re here to support them, we’re here to encourage them, to celebrate with them, to cry with them and to remember most importantly how their lives have been forever changed.”
Heggen said it is heartening to see the strength of Saratoga County community and the Capital District at large every year the this event, when they come together. Another part of the ceremony honored local individuals for their public service in helping the victims. This year, Heggen presented awards to the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office Investigation Unit for its work on the case of child sexual predator Arthur Gannon. An award was also given to Matthew Coseo, the principal court attorney of the Saratoga County Surrogate Court. A victim’s scroll inscribed with the names of 493 crime victims was unrolled throughout the church as part of the service, as a way to recognize them.
To conclude the event, a candle lighting ceremony provided friends and family members the opportunity to remember and honor their loved ones, both living and deceased, that were victims of crime.