Opinion
No. 17524 Ind No. 3759/14 Case No. 2019-1497
03-16-2023
The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Willie Hanford, Defendant-Appellant.
Twyla Carter, The Legal Aid Society, New York (Katheryne M. Martone of counsel), for appellant. Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., District Attorney, New York (Anna Notchick of counsel), for respondent.
Twyla Carter, The Legal Aid Society, New York (Katheryne M. Martone of counsel), for appellant.
Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., District Attorney, New York (Anna Notchick of counsel), for respondent.
Before: Friedman, J.P., González, Kennedy, Shulman, Pitt-Burke, JJ.
Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Michele S. Rodney, J.), entered on or about November 1, 2018, which adjudicated defendant a level two sexually violent offender pursuant to the Sex Offender Registration Act (Correction Law art 6-c), unanimously affirmed, without costs.
The court providently exercised its discretion when it declined to grant a downward departure (see People v Gillotti, 23 N.Y.3d 841 [2014]). Defendant's good prison disciplinary record was sufficiently taken into account by the risk assessment instrument (see People v Watson, 112 A.D.3d 501, 503 [1st Dept 2013], lv denied 22 N.Y.3d 863 [2014]), and his rehabilitation was not exceptional (see People v Bonnemere, 201 A.D.3d 475 [1st Dept 2022]). Defendant has not shown that his age minimized his individual risk of reoffense to such an extent that a downward departure is warranted (see e.g. People v Lalji, 133 A.D.3d 427, 428 [1st Dept 2015], lv denied 26 N.Y.3d 917 [2016]). In any event, the mitigating factors cited by defendant were outweighed by the seriousness of the underlying crime, in which defendant blatantly approached and sexually abused a 10-year-old stranger who was accompanied by her mother in a public place. These circumstances suggest a lack of control and a serious risk of sexual reoffense (see People v Gillette, 189 A.D.3d 512 [1st Dept 2020]).