Opinion
2015–08715
12-13-2017
PEOPLE of State of New York, respondent, v. Salamea WILSON, appellant.
Paul Skip Laisure, New York, N.Y. (Meredith S. Holt of counsel), for appellant. Eric Gonzalez, Acting District Attorney, Brooklyn, N.Y. (Leonard Joblove, Morgan J. Dennehy, and Julian Joiris of counsel), for respondent.
Paul Skip Laisure, New York, N.Y. (Meredith S. Holt of counsel), for appellant.
Eric Gonzalez, Acting District Attorney, Brooklyn, N.Y. (Leonard Joblove, Morgan J. Dennehy, and Julian Joiris of counsel), for respondent.
RUTH C. BALKIN, J.P., JOHN M. LEVENTHAL, LEONARD B. AUSTIN, ANGELA G. IANNACCI, JJ.
DECISION & ORDERAppeal by the defendant from an order of the Supreme Court, Kings County (Murphy, J.), dated August 18, 2015, which, after a hearing, designated him a level two sex offender pursuant to Correction Law article 6–C.
ORDERED that the order is affirmed, without costs or disbursements.
The Supreme Court properly rejected the defendant's request for a downward departure from the presumptive risk level. A court determining a defendant's risk level under the Sex Offender Registration Act (see Correction Law art 6–C; hereinafter SORA) may not downwardly depart from the presumptive risk level unless the defendant first identifies, and proves by a preponderance of the evidence the facts in support of, "a mitigating factor of a kind, or to a degree, that is not otherwise adequately taken into account by the [SORA: Risk Assessment Guidelines and Commentary (2006) (hereinafter Guidelines) ]" ( People v. Lathan, 129 A.D.3d 686, 687, 8 N.Y.S.3d 921 [internal quotation marks omitted]; see People v. Warren, 152 A.D.3d 551, 551, 59 N.Y.S.3d 57 ; Guidelines at 4). Here, the defendant failed to identify a proper mitigating factor (see People v. Warren, 152 A.D.3d at 551, 59 N.Y.S.3d 57; People v. Rodriguez, 145 A.D.3d 489, 490, 44 N.Y.S.3d 16 ; People v. Roldan, 140 A.D.3d 411, 412, 30 N.Y.S.3d 871 ). Accordingly, there was no basis for a downward departure, and the court properly designated the defendant a level two sex offender (see People v. Warren, 152 A.D.3d at 551, 59 N.Y.S.3d 57 ).
BALKIN, J.P., LEVENTHAL, AUSTIN and IANNACCI, JJ., concur.