Opinion
May 5, 1986
Appeal from the Family Court, Queens County (Corrado, J.).
Order of disposition affirmed, without costs or disbursements.
The evidence in the record indicates that there was proof beyond a reasonable doubt that the appellant intentionally and forcibly raped the three-year-old victim. The child's testimony was corroborated by the appellant's confession to the police, as well as the objective medical evidence and testimony of the other witnesses. We find no basis to disturb the Family Court's findings with respect to the credibility of the witnesses and the weight to be given to their evidence (see, People v Malizia, 62 N.Y.2d 755, 757, cert denied 469 U.S. 932).
We also find no merit to the appellant's argument that the Family Court abused its discretion in placing him in a Title III facility. At the dispositional hearing, the testimony of the psychiatrist retained by the court, the probation officer, and the court counselor from the Division for Youth emphasized that the appellant's behavior during recent months and during his interviews displayed an angry demeanor with expressions of violent ideas and fantasies. They concurred in their opinion that the appellant required a placement in a highly structured facility with educational, psychiatric, and behavior modification resources. The record further reveals that although the court considered the appellant's past success in a nonrestrictive setting, it concluded that his present needs and his best interest, as well as that of the community, required his placement in a restrictive setting. On this record, we cannot say that the Family Court abused its discretion (see, Matter of Katherine W., 62 N.Y.2d 947).
We have reviewed all of the appellant's remaining contentions and find that they are without merit. Lawrence, J.P., Eiber, Kunzeman and Kooper, JJ., concur.