People v. Mitchell
Opinion of the Court
—Appeal from a judgment of the County Court of Cortland County (Smith, J.), rendered March 17, 1997, which resentenced defendant following his conviction of the crime of rape in the second degree.
Upon appeal of defendant’s conviction of the crimes of rape in the second degree and sexual abuse in the first degree, this Court modified the judgment by vacating the latter conviction
Although County Court sentenced defendant to the maximum prison term statutorily permissible, which was also the same prison term originally imposed for the crime, our review of the record indicates that the court did so only after independently assessing all relevant factors, including the probation reports, the victim’s impact statement, arguments from counsel and institutional reports which were favorable to defendant. Moreover, we find that the sentence was neither harsh nor excessive. The sentence is within the statutory parameters and is fitting in view of the heinous nature of the crime committed against a 12-year-old victim (see, People v Deyo, 222 AD2d 757; People v Keller, 200 AD2d 843, Iv denied 83 NY2d 873).
Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.