People v. Cathy, 134 A.D.3d 1579 (N.Y. App. Div. 2015). · Go Syfert
People v. Cathy, 134 A.D.3d 1579 (N.Y. App. Div. 2015). Cases Citing This Book View Copy Cite
15 citation events (15 in the last 25 years) across 1 distinct court.
Strongest positive: People v. Leslie (nyappdiv, 2024-09-05)
Top citers, strongest first. 11 distinct citers. How cited ↗
discussed Cited as authority (rule) People v. Leslie
N.Y. App. Div. · 2024 · confidence medium
We find that there was no overassessment, given the nature of the underlying crime, in which defendant knowingly engaged in a sexual relationship with the underage victim and impregnated her, while lying about his age to the victim and telling her to lie about hers ( see People v Silva , 212 AD3d 483 [1st Dept 2023]; People v Cathy , 134 AD3d 1579, 1580 [4th Dept 2015]).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) People v. Leslie
N.Y. App. Div. · 2024 · confidence medium
We find that there was no overassessment, given the nature of the underlying crime, in which defendant knowingly engaged in a sexual relationship with the underage victim and impregnated her, while lying about his age to the victim and telling her to lie about hers ( see People v Silva , 212 AD3d 483 [1st Dept 2023]; People v Cathy , 134 AD3d 1579, 1580 [4th Dept 2015]).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) People v. Swartz
N.Y. App. Div. · 2023 · confidence medium
Here, however, despite the lack of forcible compulsion, it cannot be said that the 25 points assessed for sexual contact with the victims "result[ed] in an over-assessment" of defendant's risk to public safety (Guidelines at 9) given defendant's repeated sexual intercourse with two victims whom he met through friendships with their siblings and knew to be less than the age of consent, the reliable hearsay evidence that one of the victims contracted a sexually transmitted infection from defendant, and defendant's subsequent federal conviction arising from his possession and sharing of child por…
discussed Cited as authority (rule) People v. Catalano
N.Y. App. Div. · 2019 · confidence medium
Defendant is correct that "[a] court may choose to downwardly depart from the presumptive risk assessment level in an appropriate case and in those instances where (i) the victim's lack of consent is due only to inability to consent by virtue of age and (ii) scoring 25 points [for sexual contact with the victim, risk factor 2] results in an over-assessment of the offender's risk to public safety" ( People v Cathy , 134 AD3d 1579, 1580 [4th Dept 2015] [internal quotation marks omitted]).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) People v. Gerros
N.Y. App. Div. · 2019 · confidence medium
According to the SORA Risk Assessment Guidelines and Commentary (2006) (Guidelines), that factor "focuses on the offender's history of [substance] abuse and the circumstances at the time of the offense" ( id. at 15). "[T]he fact that alcohol was not a factor in the underlying offense is not dispositive inasmuch as the [G]uidelines further provide that [a]n offender need not be abusing alcohol or drugs at the time of the instant offense to receive points in this category" ( People v Cathy , 134 AD3d 1579, 1579 [4th Dept 2015] [internal quotation marks omitted]; see Guidelines at 15).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) People v. Slishevsky
N.Y. App. Div. · 2019 · confidence medium
Contrary to defendant's contention, "[t]he fact that alcohol was not a factor in the underlying offense is not dispositive inasmuch as the [SORA 2006 Risk Assessment Guidelines and Commentary] provide that [a]n offender need not be abusing alcohol or drugs at the time of the instant offense to receive points in this category" ( People v Cathy , 134 AD3d 1579, 1579 [4th Dept 2015] [internal quotation marks omitted]).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) People v. Augsbury
N.Y. App. Div. · 2017 · confidence medium
The assessment of points for both the age of the victim under risk factor 5 and the fact that she was asleep and therefore physically helpless under risk factor 6 “ ‘did not constitute impermissible double counting’ ” (People v Miller, 149 AD3d 1279, 1281 [3d Dept 2017]; see People v Smith, 144 AD3d 652 , 653 [2d Dept 2016], lv denied 28 NY3d 915 [2017]; People v Edwards, 93 AD3d 1210 , 1211 [4th Dept 2012]), and thus the application of the guidelines did not result in an overassessment of the risk that defendant presents to public safety (see generally People v Cathy, 134 AD3d 1579, 1…
discussed Cited as authority (rule) People v. Johnson
N.Y. App. Div. · 2017 · confidence medium
To the extent that defendant contends that County Court erred in calculating his risk level by improperly assessing points for his history of substance abuse and his failure to accept responsibility for his crime, we reject that contention (see generally People v Cathy, 134 AD3d 1579, 1579 [2015]; People v Noriega, 26 AD3d 767 [2006], lv denied 6 NY3d 713 [2006]).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) People v. Johnson
N.Y. App. Div. · 2017 · confidence medium
To the extent that defendant contends that County Court erred in calculating his risk level by improperly assessing points for his history of substance abuse and his failure to accept responsibility for his crime, we reject that contention (see generally People v Cathy, 134 AD3d 1579, 1579 [2015]; People v Noriega, 26 AD3d 767 [2006], lv denied 6 NY3d 713 [2006]).
discussed Cited "see" People v. Love
N.Y. App. Div. · 2019 · signal: see · confidence high
"A court may choose to downwardly depart from the risk assessment in an appropriate case and in those instances where (i) the victim's lack of consent is due only to inability to consent by virtue of age and (ii) scoring 25 points [for sexual contact with the victim, risk factor 2] results in an over-assessment of the offender's risk to public safety' " ( People v Fryer , 101 AD3d 835 , 836 [2d Dept 2012], lv denied 20 NY3d 859 [2013], quoting Sex Offender Registration Act: Risk Assessment Guidelines and Commentary at 9 [2006]; see People v Cathy , 134 AD3d 1579, 1580 [4th Dept 2015]).
discussed Cited "see" People v. Secor (2×) also: Cited "see, e.g."
N.Y. App. Div. · 2019 · signal: see · confidence high
We note that, under the guidelines, "[a] court may choose to downwardly depart from the presumptive risk assessment 'in an appropriate case and in those instances where (i) the victim's lack of consent is due only to inability to consent by virtue of age and (ii) scoring 25 points [for sexual contact with the victim, risk factor 2] results in an over-assessment of the offender's risk to public safety'" ( People v Fryer , 101 AD3d 835 , 836 [2012], lv denied 20 NY3d 859 [2013], quoting Sex Offender Registration Act Risk Assessment Guidelines and Commentary at 9 [2006]; see People v Cathy , 134 …
Retrieving the full opinion text from the archive…
The People of the State of New York
v.
Dereck M. Cathy
Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York.
Dec 31, 2015.
134 A.D.3d 1579
Cited by 12 opinions  |  Published

Appeal from an order of the Wayne County Court (Daniel G. Barrett, J.), dated October 1, 2014. The order determined that defendant is a level two risk pursuant to the Sex Offender Registration Act.

It is hereby ordered that the order so appealed from is unanimously affirmed without costs.

Memorandum: On appeal from an order determining that he is a level two risk pursuant to the Sex Offender Registration Act ([SORA] Correction Law § 168 et seq.), defendant contends that County Court erred in calculating his risk level, and that he was entitled to a downward departure from his presumptive risk level. We reject those contentions.

Contrary to defendant’s contention, the court properly assessed 15 points for defendant’s drug and alcohol use under risk factor 11. According to the SORA 2006 Risk Assessment Guidelines and Commentary (Guidelines), that factor “focuses on the offender’s history of [substance] abuse and the circumstances at the time of the offense” (id. at 15). “[T]he fact that alcohol was not a factor in the underlying offense is not dispositive inasmuch as the [Guidelines further provide that ‘[a]n offender need not be abusing alcohol or drugs at the time of the instant offense to receive points in this category’ ” (People v Faul, 81 AD3d 1246, 1248 [2011]). In addition, although we agree with defendant that the court erred in calculating his total point score, the correct total of 100 points would still yield a presumptive level two assessment. We have considered defendant’s further contentions with respect to the court’s point assessments, and we conclude that they are without merit. Thus, the court properly concluded that defendant is a presumptive level two risk.

Furthermore, the court did not err in denying defendant’s request for a downward departure from that level inasmuch as defendant “failed to establish by a preponderance of the[*1580] evidence any ground for a downward departure from his risk level” (People v Gillotti, 119 AD3d 1390, 1391 [2014]; see People v Martinez-Guzman, 109 AD3d 462, 463 [2013], lv denied 22 NY3d 854 [2013]). Defendant is correct that “[a] court may choose to downwardly depart from the presumptive risk assessment level ‘in an appropriate case and in those instances where (i) the victim’s lack of consent is due only to inability to consent by virtue of age and (ii) scoring 25 points [for sexual contact with the victim, risk factor 2] results in an over-assessment of the offender’s risk to public safety’ ” (People v Fryer, 101 AD3d 835, 836 [2012], lv denied 20 NY3d 859 [2013], quoting Guidelines at 9). Here, however, based on defendant’s repeated sexual contact with a person he knew to be less than the age of consent, resulting in her becoming pregnant, and his lack of remorse, it cannot be said that the 25 points assessed for sexual contact with the victim “result[ed] in an over-assessment” of defendant’s risk to public safety (id.; see People v Sawyer, 78 AD3d 1517, 1518 [2010], lv denied 16 NY3d 704 [2011]). Present — Scudder, P.J., Smith, Centra, Peradotto and Carni, JJ.