People v. Townsend

Summary

The New York Court of Appeals affirmed an order assigning Kenneth Townsend a level two risk classification under the Sex Offender Registration Act. The Court held that the timing, nature, and extent of Townsend's prior sexual and violent offenses constituted an atypical aggravating factor not adequately accounted for by the Guidelines' risk factors 9 and 10, supporting an upward departure from the presumptive level one classification.

Holdings

1. An offender's prior criminal history may warrant an upward SORA departure when, although prior criminal history is a factor contemplated by Guidelines risk factors 9 and 10, the offender's atypical history is aggravating to a degree not adequately accounted for by the Guidelines.
2. The record supported the determination that risk factors 9 and 10 inadequately accounted for Townsend's prior criminal history, and the upward departure to risk level two was therefore proper.

Questions Presented

1. Whether a SORA court may grant an upward departure based on an offender's atypical prior criminal history when the Guidelines account for prior crimes generally but do not adequately account for the number, timing, nature, and extent of that history.
2. Whether the record supported the lower courts' upward departure from presumptive risk level one to risk level two.

Disposition

affirmed