An infamous convicted sex offender has been quietly serving on a Midtown Manhattan community board under a different name to shield his real identity, The Post has learned.
Community Board 5 member “Charles Ny” is really Charles Ghose, a blind man who was convicted of molesting a 15-year-old boy in Great Britain in 2005.
He’s still listed in the New York State Sex Offender Registry and has been on the Midtown board since last year.
As a member of the board, the convicted child molester attends meetings that are held in an all-boys high school, Xavier, and gets to weigh in on issues involving schools and youth services, as well as land use matters and liquor licenses.
His presence was only discovered after a tipster told The Post that “Ny’s” real name was Ghose — and he admitted his true identity when questioned.
Ghose, 42, — who first made headlines in the US in 2013 — portrayed himself as a victim when contacted by The Post.
“All of this happening the night before a community board election? Very suspicious don’t you think?” he said in an email exchange Thursday
“If you are being paid to do a hit job on me because I stand up for the community and advocate for those on welfare, Medicaid, the homeless, accessibility improvements for people with disabilities, well I think that is really sad. The New York Post already did one story on me, how many more do you need to do?,” he said.
Convicts from other states and countries are required to notify the state Department of Criminal Justices of their sex crimes after establishing residency here.
He also blamed The Post’s accurate reporting on his sex offender status for his decision to change his name.
“My name changed after the false news article by the New York Post in 2013. By the way I had that New York Post article removed under the Right To Be Forgotten law in Europe search results,” he said.
The prior Post story reported how Ghose verbally attacked a court officer when he was required to check in with the NYPD’s Special Victims Unit at Manhattan Criminal Court.
“You should have died in 9/11-F-k off!,” he told the court officer in 2013.
This week, he sent The Post a document saying his conviction was forgiven in England under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act.
Under the law, criminal convictions can become “spent or ignored” after a rehabilitation period, although they remain on the Police National Computer.
He’s now living in the US and is still listed as a Level 1 sex offender, the least restrictive category. He was previously listed in the more moderate Level 2 category.
He will remain on the sex offender registry through 2028.
Even low-risk offenders must remain on the list for 20 years.
Under the law, he must continue to report to authorities
He claims he legally changed his name.
“I have a non-drivers license issued by New York DMV [Department of Motor Vehicles] that states my name is Charles NY I would say that’s a truthful legal form of identification,” Ghose said.
He also said he uses the new name for voting purposes.
After contacted by The Post, Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine called for a probe into whether Ghose/Ny was truthful about his identity when he applied for the position.
He referred the matter to the Department of Investigation.
“Our office has been made aware of the situation concerning a CB5 member. We have proactively contacted the Department of Investigations to understand our options,” a Levine spokesman said.
“We can confirm that no application was received under the name now linked to this individual. We take this matter very seriously and are committed to a transparent process as we address it,” the BP’s rep said.
The Post asked for documents regarding the board member’s legal identification. He would also not show his license.
“I won’t be sending you anything since you said I am under investigation so let the investigation continue. I will provide those investigators with my identification card,” Ghose said.
Under New York law, a city resident must file a petition for a legal name change in Civil Court or state Supreme Court. Ghose had no immediate comment if he had done so.
Some of Ghose’s neighbors in the Prince George apartment complex on East 28th Street said the identity change looked shady in light of his criminal record.
“That’s f—ing nuts. I am pissed off. I am not going to help him anymore. What he did is not right,” said Orlando, who sometimes helps Ghose carry groceries.
Another tenant, John, said, “That goes to show you that they may not have vetted him thoroughly. They only looked at the surface. They gotta catch that. You are not doing your job. If they were doing their job correctly they should have found out.”
