Opinion
15164 Ind. No. 4335/10 Case No. 2020–04782
01-27-2022
The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Isael GOMEZ, Defendant–Appellant.
Robert S. Dean, Center for Appellate Litigation, New York (John L. Palmer of counsel), for appellant. Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., District Attorney, New York (Sylvia Wertheimer of counsel), for respondent.
Robert S. Dean, Center for Appellate Litigation, New York (John L. Palmer of counsel), for appellant.
Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., District Attorney, New York (Sylvia Wertheimer of counsel), for respondent.
Kapnick, J.P., Gesmer, Gonza´lez, Kennedy, Shulman, JJ.
Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Miriam R. Best, J.), entered on or about December 1, 2020, which adjudicated defendant a level two sexually violent offender pursuant to the Sex Offender Registration Act (Correction Law art 6–C), unanimously affirmed, without costs.
The court properly exercised its discretion when it declined to grant a downward departure (see People v. Gillotti, 23 N.Y.3d 841, 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 seriousness of defendant's sexual abuse of his stepdaughter for a period of six years, starting when she was eight years old. Defendant's clean disciplinary record and allegedly "exemplary" conduct while incarcerated, lack of a criminal history, and intensive postrelease supervision were adequately taken into account, and defendant has not shown that his age and efforts at rehabilitation reduced his risk of reoffense to an extent warranting a departure (see e. g. People v. Palmer, 166 A.D.3d 536, 537, 86 N.Y.S.3d 717 [1st Dept. 2018], lv denied 32 N.Y.3d 919, 2019 WL 1409867 [2019] ; People v. Ogata, 124 A.D.3d 416, 998 N.Y.S.2d 189 [1st Dept. 2015], lv denied 25 N.Y.3d 908, 2015 WL 2237492 [2015] ). We have considered and rejected defendant's remaining arguments.