The Legal Aid Bureau of Buffalo, Inc., Buffalo (Erin A. Tresmond of counsel), for defendant-appellant.

John J. Flynn, District Attorney, Buffalo (Michael J. Hillery of counsel), for respondent.

Appeal from a judgment of the Erie County Court (Sheila A. DiTullio, J.), rendered May 28, 2019. The judgment convicted defendant upon his plea of guilty of course of sexual conduct against a child in the first degree.

It is hereby ordered that the judgment so appealed from is unanimously affirmed.

Memorandum: On appeal from a judgment convicting him upon his plea of guilty of course of sexual conduct against a child in the first degree (Penal Law § 130.75 [1] [a]), defendant contends that his waiver of the right to appeal is invalid and that his sentence is unduly harsh and severe. We agree with defendant that the waiver of the right to appeal is invalid and therefore does not preclude our review of his challenge to the severity of the sentence (see People v Thomas, 34 NY3d 545, 565-566 [2019], cert denied 589 US &mdash, 140 S Ct 2634 [2020]; People v Martin, 213 AD3d 1299, 1299-1300 [4th Dept 2023]; People v Gordon, 191 AD3d 1367, 1368 [4th Dept 2021], lv denied 36 NY3d 1120 [2021]). Nonetheless, we conclude that the sentence is not unduly harsh or severe. Present—Smith, J.P., Curran, Bannister, Montour and Ogden, JJ.