Opinion
December 18, 1995
Appeal from the Family Court, Queens County (Fitzmaurice, J.).
Ordered that the order is affirmed, without costs or disbursements.
The appellant contends that he is not a proper party to this child protective proceeding because he was not a person "legally responsible" for his sister Mary Alice V., pursuant to Family Court Act § 1012 (a), during the period he allegedly sexually abused her. However, the appellant's contention is not preserved for appellate review because it was never raised in the proceeding ( see, Matter of Kagels v Kagels, 209 A.D.2d 1020; Matter of Vitti v Vitti., 202 A.D.2d 917, 919). In any event, the appellant's contention is without merit. The definition of a "[p]erson legally responsible" under Family Court Act § 1012 (g) extends to include the 17-year old appellant, who was found to have sexually abused his 4-year old sister while charged with the responsibility of caring for her in the absence of their mother. The appellant resided in the same household as his sister and he had babysat for his sister on previous occasions. Therefore, we conclude that the appellant was a "person legally responsible" under Family Court Act § 1012 ( see generally, Matter of Yolanda D., 218 A.D.2d 648). O'Brien, J.P., Pizzuto, Santucci and Krausman, JJ., concur.