PEOPLE v. WILLIAMS (2024)

Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department, New York.

The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Keylester WILLIAMS, Defendant–Appellant.

1537

Decided: January 30, 2024

Webber, J.P., Friedman, González, Shulman, Pitt–Burke, JJ.

Jenay Nurse Guilford, Center for Appellate Litigation, New York (Shaina R. Watrous of counsel), for appellant. Darcel D. Clark, District Attorney, Bronx (T. Charles Won of counsel), for respondent.

Order, Supreme Court, Bronx County (Raymond L. Bruce, J.), entered on or about November 19, 2021, which adjudicated defendant a level two sexually violent offender pursuant to the Sex Offender Registration Act (Correction Law art 6–C), unanimously modified, on the law, to the extent of reducing the adjudication from level two to level one, and otherwise affirmed, without costs.

The court should not have assessed 10 points under risk factor 12 for failure to accept responsibility. Defendant's denials of guilt were made at the time his appeal from his underlying convictions were pending. Requiring defendant to accept responsibility could potentially result in his admissions being used against him in any retrial, violating his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination (see generally People v. Krull, 208 AD3d 163 [1st Dept 2022], appeal dismissed 39 NY3d 1093 [2023]). Accordingly, defendant should have been assessed 70 points, rendering him a risk level one offender.

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