People v. Carter

Appellate Division, First Department · 2025 · Criminal Law

Criminal LawSex Offender Registration ActSex offender risk level assessmentDownward departureSORArisk factor relationship with victimpurpose of victimizationclear and convincing evidence

Facts

Defendant was 36 years old and the victim was 14 when they met at a friend's house. Defendant exchanged contact information with her while presenting himself as trustworthy because he was a former youth counselor, and within two months their conversations became sexual. He arranged to meet her again and they engaged in sexual intercourse, and he repeated these acts twice more when the victim was 15. The People relied on these facts to show that defendant established the relationship for the purpose of victimization.

Issue

Whether the People proved by clear and convincing evidence that defendant established a relationship with the minor victim for the purpose of victimization, justifying 20 points under the applicable SORA risk factor. Whether the court also properly refused to grant a downward departure from defendant's presumptive risk level.

Rule

Twenty points may be assessed under the SORA risk factor concerning relationship with the victim when the People establish by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant established the relationship for the purpose of victimization. A court may deny a downward departure from the presumptive risk level where the alleged mitigating factors are already adequately accounted for in the risk assessment instrument or are outweighed by the seriousness of the underlying sex offense.

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One of 10 multiple-choice questions for this case. Pick an answer to see why.

In Buffalo, 34-year-old Devin Morse met 13-year-old Talia Reed at a neighborhood cookout hosted by a family friend. He told her aunt that he had years of experience mentoring teenagers, obtained Talia's phone number that evening, and within three weeks began sending sexual messages before arranging a private meeting that led to sexual contact.

At a SORA hearing, should the court assess 20 points for the relationship-with-the-victim factor?

Explanation. Twenty points may be assessed when the People prove by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant established the relationship for the purpose of victimization. Here, Devin cultivated access by presenting himself as trustworthy and moved quickly from initial contact to sexual messaging and sexual contact. As in the controlling rule, that short timeline supports the conclusion that there was no innocent explanation for getting to know the minor. (Derived from People v. Carter (n.d.).)