PEOPLE v. RUIZ (2024)

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

The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Daniel RUIZ, Defendant–Appellant.

2657

Decided: October 01, 2024

Moulton, J.P., Mendez, Higgitt, O'Neill Levy, Michael, JJ.

Twyla Carter, The Legal Aid Society, New York (Robin Richardson of counsel), for appellant. Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., District Attorney, New York (Sarah Lubin of counsel), for respondent.

Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Ellen Biben, J.), entered on or about September 8, 2022, which adjudicated defendant a level three sexually violent offender pursuant to the Sex Offender Registration Act (Correction Law art 6–C), unanimously affirmed, without costs.

The record supports the court's discretionary upward departure to a risk level three adjudication (see People v. Gillotti, 23 N.Y.3d 841, 861–862, 994 N.Y.S.2d 1, 18 N.E.3d 701 [2014]). The court properly determined that the points assessed under risk factor 9 related to defendant's criminal history did not adequately take into account defendant's pattern of prior sex offenses, which involved similar forcible touching of female strangers (see People v. Carmona, 212 A.D.3d 537, 180 N.Y.S.3d 530 [1st Dept. 2020], lv denied 39 N.Y.3d 913, 2023 WL 3512986 [2023]). The mitigating factors cited by defendant do not warrant a different result.

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