by Carleigh Minor
News Partner 13WHAM

Pittsford, N.Y. (WHAM) — In less than a month, Oleksandr Levytskyy, 29, of Irondequoit has been arrested and released from custody twice.

His first arrest came July 10, when he was accused of harassing a person on a trail along the Erie Canal near Great Embankment Park in Pittsford. Town Supervisor Bill Smith said there have been several other recent reports of a man stalking women along the canal.

Levytskyy was arrested again Tuesday, after police said he followed a woman who was walking to work on Park Avenue in Rochester, made unwanted sexual comments toward her, followed her inside, went into a bathroom alone and refused to leave.

Local law enforcement is heightening safety in certain areas, while some officials question why Levytskyy is not behind bars.

"This is an example of the failure of New York’s criminal justice system," Pittsford Town Supervisor Bill Smith said.

Smith said he wants to see change from state officials when it comes to policies in the criminal justice system that allow repeat offenders like Levytskyy out of custody.

"It’s a dreadful shame that people have to live with fear like that," Smith said. "In a functional criminal justice system, they wouldn’t have to live a fear like that — but that’s where the solution lies."

Smith said Levytskyy has a no-trespass order in Pittsford, but local authorities can only do so much.

"To think that the Rochester police yesterday, when they arrested the guy and when he was released after that, they had to tell people to be on the lookout for this guy and take care to protect yourselves," Smith said. "Wait a minute, law enforcement is supposed to be out there protecting us, but their hands are tied by bad state policies."

Police believe there may be additional victims. Anyone with information is asked to call 911.

"Sadly, New York is the most retrograde state in the country in terms of protecting people from crime and in lowering the number of new victims every day," Smith said. "And until these policies change, that situation is not going to change."