People v Fountain
2014 NY Slip Op 00935 [114 AD3d 491]
February 13, 2014
Appellate Division, First Department
Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431.
As corrected through Wednesday, March 26, 2014


The People of the State of New York, Respondent,
v
James Fountain, Appellant.

[*1] Steven Banks, The Legal Aid Society, New York (Lorraine Maddalo of counsel), for appellant.

Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., District Attorney, New York (Yuval Simchi-Levi of counsel), for respondent.

Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Roger Hayes, J.), entered on or about September 14, 2009, 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 court properly exercised its discretion in declining to grant a downward departure to level two (see People v Cintron, 12 NY3d 60, 70 [2009], cert denied 558 US 1011 [2009]; People v Johnson, 11 NY3d 416, 418, 421 [2008]). Defendant's egregious criminal record, including the underlying sex crime, defendant's prior sex crimes against children, and his homicide convictions, outweighs the factors he cites in support of a downward departure. Concur—Gonzalez, P.J., Sweeny, Richter, Manzanet-Daniels and Clark, JJ.