HERE DEFENDANT’S ONGOING RELATIONSHIP WITH THE VICTIM WAS A “MITIGATING,” NOT AN “AGGRAVATING,” FACTOR IN THE SORA RISK-LEVEL ANALYSIS (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing (modifying) Supreme Court, determined the People did not identify an aggravating factor that justified an upward departure. The fact that defendant had a long-term relationship with the victim was actually a mitigating factor:

… [T]he People failed to identify an aggravating factor that tends to establish a higher likelihood of reoffense or danger to the community not adequately taken into account by the risk assessment instrument … . The ongoing nature of the defendant’s relationship with the victim, if anything, tended to demonstrate a lower likelihood of reoffense and danger to the community … . Accordingly, the County Court improvidently exercised its discretion in granting the People’s application for an upward departure from the defendant’s presumptive risk level. People v Call, 2026 NY Slip Op 06335, Second Dept 10-28-26

Practice Point: Here the defendant’s ongoing relationship with the victim was deemed a mitigating, not an aggravating, SORA factor.​