Westchester | State senate candidate asks daily to withhold his sex-abuse victim past; paper declines

Greg Ball (left), now a New York state assemblyman, revealed his secret last night at a public forum on child sex offenders, after first requesting that journalists present not report his disclosure. Citing company policy, The Journal News nonetheless published the information today. "Gannett policy," the paper says, "and that of most news organizations, is that any comments made in a public forum are considered on the record, particularly when made by a public official."

The daily says Ball's revelation is the latest in a political career marked by controversial and even bizarre events. "A year ago," the newspaper's story says, "Ball found a dead goat with a sign bearing a South American gang reference in the road in front of his driveway. The avowed animal lover is a staunch opponent of illegal immigration."