In SORA Proceeding, Child Pornography Properly Considered Under Factor 7 (“Relationship Between Offender and Victim”)

In affirming a SORA determination, the Fourth Department noted that the 20 point assessment under risk factor 7 (entitled “Relationship Between Offender and Victim”), based upon the defendant’s pleading guilty to receiving child pornography (a federal statute), was appropriate:

With respect to …the 20 points assessed under risk factor 7, we note that the underlying conviction was a federal offense to which defendant pleaded guilty to receiving child pornography (18 USC 2252 [a] [2]).  Although the Court of Appeals has stated that “[i]t does not seem that factor 7 was written with possessors of child pornography in mind” …, the Court of Appeals determined that points were properly assessed under risk factor 7 in a case where the defendant was convicted of possessing child pornography….  Consequently, we conclude that the court here properly assessed points under risk factor 7. People v Noyes, 687, 4th Dept 7-19-13