Crimes - Sex Offenders - Sex Offender Registration Act - Downward Departure Denied

Order, Supreme Court, Bronx County (Laurence E. Busching, J.), entered on or about March 7, 2023, which, after a hearing, adjudicated defendant a level three predicate sex offender pursuant to the Sex Offender Registration Act (Correction Law art 6-C), unanimously affirmed, without costs.

The court providently exercised its discretion in denying defendant's request for a downward departure (see People v Gillotti, 23 NY3d 841, 861 [2014]). The mitigating factors cited by defendant are outweighed by his criminal record, which shows a propensity to commit sex crimes, even though his prior convictions are remote in time (see People v Acosta, 225 AD3d 553, 554 [1st Dept 2024], lv denied 41 NY3d 910 [2024]; People v Carter, 114 AD3d 592, 592 [1st Dept 2014]). Defendant also did not establish that his response to the treatment program was exceptional so as to warrant a downward departure, or that his "family support reduced his particular likelihood of reoffense or danger to the community" (People v Bevel, 224 AD3d 430, 431 [1st Dept 2024], lv denied 42 NY3d 902 [2024]). Moreover, defendant's age is "not a reliable factor in determining his risk of reoffending," particularly where he committed his most recent sex offense at the age of 66 (People v McFarland, 120 AD3d 1121, 1122 [1st Dept 2014], lv denied 24 NY3d 1053 [2014]). Concur—Manzanet-Daniels, J.P., Kennedy, Kapnick, Scarpulla, Higgitt, JJ.