Opinion
KA 01-01423
June 14, 2002.
Appeal from a judgment of Steuben County Court (Latham, J.), entered October 30, 2000, convicting defendant upon his plea of guilty of sexual abuse in the first degree.
BONNIE BURGIO, WATERTOWN, FOR DEFENDANT-APPELLANT.
JOHN C. TUNNEY, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, BATH (BONITA J. STUBBLEFIELD OF COUNSEL), FOR PLAINTIFF-RESPONDENT.
PRESENT: PIGOTT, JR., P.J., PINE, HAYES, WISNER, AND HURLBUTT, JJ.
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
It is hereby ORDERED that the judgment so appealed from be and the same hereby is unanimously affirmed.
Memorandum:
Defendant contends that County Court erred in accepting his plea of guilty to sexual abuse in the first degree (Penal Law former § 130.65 [1]) because the plea was coerced. Although that contention survives defendant's waiver of the right to appeal, defendant failed to move to withdraw the guilty plea or to vacate the judgment of conviction and thus has failed to preserve his contention for our review ( see People v. Williams, 272 A.D.2d 986). In any event, we conclude that defendant's Alford plea ( see North Carolina v. Alford, 400 U.S. 25) was "a knowledgeable, voluntary plea by defendant with a clear understanding of the consequences" ( People v. White, 214 A.D.2d 811, 812, lv denied 86 N.Y.2d 742; see People v. Townley, 286 A.D.2d 885, 885-886; see also People v. Alexander, 284 A.D.2d 951, affd 96 N.Y.2d 915 [Mar. 21, 2002]). Finally, the sentence is neither unduly harsh nor severe.