People v. Johnson

People v Johnson (2026 NY Slip Op 00844)

People v Johnson

2026 NY Slip Op 00844

Decided on February 17, 2026

Appellate Division, First Department

Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431.

This opinion is uncorrected and subject to revision before publication in the Official Reports.

Decided and Entered: February 17, 2026
Before: Manzanet-Daniels, J.P., Kapnick, Pitt-Burke, Higgitt, Rosado, JJ.
Ind. No. 4710/88|Appeal No. 5833|Case No. 2023-05813|

Jenay Nurse Guilford, Center for Appellate Litigation, New York (Adrienne Wells of counsel), for appellant.

Darcel D. Clark, District Attorney, Bronx (Rafael Curbelo of counsel), for respondent.

Order, Supreme Court, Bronx County (Raymond L. Bruce, J.), entered on or about October 5, 2023, which denied in part defendant's Correction Law § 168-o(2) petition to modify his sex offender classification, unanimously affirmed, without costs.

Pursuant to defendant's Correction Law § 168-o(2) petition, the court modified defendant's risk level three classification to level two but denied a further modification to level one. Defendant has presented no basis for this Court to exercise its independent discretion to further reduce defendant's risk level to level one. The mitigating factors cited by defendant, including his age, lack of sexual offense convictions since 1988 and criminal convictions since 2009, and community support, when viewed in light of the aggravating factors, including the seriousness of defendant's underlying crime of rape at knifepoint, persistent denial that he needs sex offense treatment, conditional remorse, and lack of evidence documenting his sobriety, warrant only a modification to a risk level two adjudication (see People v Johnson, 124 AD3d 495, 496 [1st Dept 2015]; cf. People v Davis, 179 AD3d 183, 187 [2d Dept 2019]).

THIS CONSTITUTES THE DECISION AND ORDER OF THE SUPREME COURT, APPELLATE DIVISION, FIRST DEPARTMENT.

ENTERED: February 17, 2026