Summary
The Appellate Division, Third Department, affirmed an order classifying Anthony Watkins as a risk level three sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration Act. The court held that reliable evidence supported assessment of 20 points for the relationship-with-victim risk factor and found the challenge to 10 points for failure to accept responsibility academic because the score would remain within the risk level three range without those points.
Court
Supreme Court of the State of New York, Appellate Division, Third Department
Jurisdiction
New York Appellate Division, Third Department
Decision date
March 19, 2026
Docket number
CV-24-1230
Disposition
affirmed
Questions Presented
- Whether reliable evidence clearly and convincingly supported the assessment of 20 points under SORA risk factor 7 for a relationship with the victim involving a stranger or a relationship established for the purpose of victimization.
- Whether the challenge to the additional 10 points assessed under SORA risk factor 12 was academic because removing those points would not alter the presumptive risk level three classification.
- Whether challenges to the 95 points assessed under risk factors 2, 4, 5, 9, and 11 were preserved for appellate review.
Holdings
- The assessment of 20 points under risk factor 7 was supported by sufficient reliable evidence established by clear and convincing evidence because defendant's months-long communications with the victim demonstrated that the relationship was established or promoted for the primary purpose of victimization.
- The challenge to the 10 points assessed under risk factor 12 was academic because subtracting those points would leave defendant with 115 points, still within the presumptive range for a risk level three designation.
- Because defendant did not object at the SORA hearing to the 95 points assessed under risk factors 2, 4, 5, 9, and 11, any challenge to those points was not properly before the court.
Court Document
Open PDFLoading document…