People v Gonzalez
2008 NY Slip Op 01404 [48 AD3d 284]
February 14, 2008
Appellate Division, First Department
Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431.
As corrected through Wednesday, April 16, 2008


The People of the State of New York, Respondent,
v
Ruben Gonzalez, Appellant.

[*1] Richard M. Greenberg, Office of the Appellate Defender, New York City (Christina Graves of counsel), for appellant.

Robert M. Morgenthau, District Attorney, New York (Olivia Sohmer of counsel), for respondent.

Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Bruce Allen, J.), entered on or about April 11, 2006, which adjudicated defendant a level two sex offender pursuant to the Sex Offender Registration Act (SORA) (Correction Law art 6-C), unanimously affirmed, without costs.

The court's assessment of 15 points for the risk factor of history of drug or alcohol abuse was supported by clear and convincing evidence. Reliable documentary evidence relating to defendant's incarceration, as well as his own admissions, established that he had been diagnosed as chemically dependent and treated for substance abuse. We reject defendant's argument that this history is excessively remote. Defendant served approximately eight years in prison and had only been at liberty for less than a year at the time of his SORA hearing. Defendant's abstinence and participation in treatment while he was incarcerated are "not necessarily predictive of his behavior when no longer under such supervision." (People v Warren, 42 AD3d 593, 594 [2007], lv denied 9 NY3d 810 [2007]; compare People v Wilbert, 35 AD3d 1220 [2006]). Defendant did not establish any special circumstances warranting a downward departure from his presumptive risk level (see People v Guaman, 8 AD3d 545 [2004]). Concur—Andrias, J.P., Friedman, Sweeny and Moskowitz, JJ.