Opinion
2014-01-8
The PEOPLE, etc., respondent, v. Ronald D. STAHL, appellant.
Robert C. Mitchell, Riverhead, N.Y. (Alfred J. Cicale of counsel), for appellant. Thomas J. Spota, District Attorney, Riverhead, N.Y. (Michael Blakey of counsel), for respondent.
Robert C. Mitchell, Riverhead, N.Y. (Alfred J. Cicale of counsel), for appellant. Thomas J. Spota, District Attorney, Riverhead, N.Y. (Michael Blakey of counsel), for respondent.
Appeal by the defendant from an amended judgment of the County Court, Suffolk County (Kahn, J.), rendered April 4, 2012, revoking a sentence of probation previously imposed by the same court, upon a finding that he had violated conditions thereof, after a hearing, and imposing sentences of imprisonment upon his previous convictions of attempted criminal sexual act in the second degree, attempted dissemination of indecent material to minors in the first degree, and possession of a sexual performance by a child under 16 years of age.
ORDERED that the amended judgment is affirmed.
A finding of a violation of probation must be based upon a preponderance of the evidence ( seeCPL 410.70[3]; People v. Maldonado, 44 A.D.3d 793, 794, 843 N.Y.S.2d 415; People v. Mikulski, 225 A.D.2d 563, 639 N.Y.S.2d 89). Contrary to the defendant's contention, the Supreme Court properly found, based upon a preponderance of the evidence presented at the hearing, that he had violated the conditions of his probation by being in a location where persons under the age of 18 were likely to congregate without permission from his probation officer, possessing a laptop computer which had not been made known to the probation department, being in possession of “sexually oriented or sexually stimulating material” on that computer, and failing to successfully complete a sex offender treatment program. Accordingly, the County Court properly revoked the defendant's sentence of probation and imposed sentences of imprisonment ( see People v. Wheeler, 99 A.D.3d 1168, 1170, 951 N.Y.S.2d 791). ENG, P.J., SKELOS, DILLON and SGROI, JJ., concur.