Opinion
01-17-2017
The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Ramon WaLKER, Defendant–Appellant.
Seymour W. James, Jr., The Legal Aid Society, New York (Adrienne M. Gantt of counsel), for appellant. Darcel D. Clark, District Attorney, Bronx (William Terrell III of counsel), for respondent.
Seymour W. James, Jr., The Legal Aid Society, New York (Adrienne M. Gantt of counsel), for appellant.
Darcel D. Clark, District Attorney, Bronx (William Terrell III of counsel), for respondent.
ACOSTA, J.P., MAZZARELLI, MANZANET–DANIELS, WEBBER, GESMER, JJ.
Order, Supreme Court, Bronx County (Seth L. Marvin, J.), entered April 30, 2014, which adjudicated defendant a level three sexually violent predicate offender pursuant to the Sex Offender Registration Act (Correction Law art. 6–C), unanimously affirmed, without costs.
Defendant is subject to the presumptive override for a prior felony sex crime conviction, which results in a level three adjudication independent of any point assessments (see People v. Howard, 27 N.Y.3d 337, 342, 33 N.Y.S.3d 132, 52 N.E.3d 1158 [2016] ). In any event, we find that the court correctly assessed 15 points under the risk factor for failure to accept responsibility, based on defendant's refusal to participate in sex offender treatment.
The court providently exercised its discretion in declining to grant a downward departure (see People v. Gillotti, 23 N.Y.3d 841, 861, 994 N.Y.S.2d 1, 18 N.E.3d 701 [2014] ). The mitigating factors cited by defendant were adequately taken into account by the risk assessment instrument or were outweighed by the egregiousness of the underlying offense and defendant's extensive criminal record.