New York Criminal Lawyer Blog
The state of New York filed a complaint charging a man with three counts of forcible touching, three counts of sexual abuse in the second degree, three counts sexual abuse in the third degree, two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, aggravated harassment in the second degree, and two counts of harassment in the second degree. A New York Drug Crime Lawyer said the charges were based on the man’s conduct toward a 13-year-old male that involved a sexual contact, exhibiting to the child a sexually explicit video, and other communications in an explicitly sexual nature.
At the beginning of the jury trial, the criminal court granted the of New York’s motion to dismiss the two counts of harassment in the second degree. At the end of the trial, the man was convicted with all the remaining counts after the evidence was presented which includes the victim’s narrative testimony of the man’s sexual conduct, the admission into evidence of the video which had been recovered from a laptop that the man had produced to the police as his personal property and the testimony of a forensic psychologist on the subject of adolescent sexual abuse syndrome. A New York Drug Possession Lawyer after the sentence was imposed, the man was designated as a level three sex offender.
Consequently, the man filed an appeal on which he argues that playing the video repeatedly to the jury served only to inflame the jury’s passions and was of questionable evidentiary value. However, the victim asserted that the man had informed him that the man was the actor in the video, which showed a male masturbating and performing other acts of a sexually explicit nature. Based on records, it is irrelevant for the commission of the crime of endangering the welfare of a child, whether the identity of the person in the video is known. Although playing the video evidence more than once was the basis of one of the two counts of endangering the welfare of a child and, as a general rule, photographs and similar evidence is acceptable.
After the evidence was closed, the defense asserts that they discovered the web page connected to the victim showing that the victim had admitted that he was of consenting age when allegedly victimized by the man’s conduct. The defense sought to recall the victim to confront him with the discovered evidence. However, the court did not inefficiently exercise its judgment in denying the motion. A trial court is vested with wide latitude to determine the permissibility of evidence, to control the conduct of a trial, and to keep the proof within acceptable bounds. The court has an option to permit or deny a party’s application to reopen the evidentiary portion of a case. Consequently, the defense failed to put into effect the discovery due to diligence that the evidence was available prior to the trial.
The man’s claim that the evidence was legally insufficient to support the convictions is largely unpreserved for appellate review and the court find it without merit.
Further, a Nassau County Drug Possession Lawyer said the court finds that the judgment of conviction was not against the weight of the evidence. The testimonies of the state of New York’s witnesses appear truthful on their face, are internally consistent as to material fact and with respect to the victim’s ability to establish a precise chronology as to the specific events of the abuse, which occurred several times over a four-to-five-month period. The jury properly credits the state of New York’s witnesses as to the facts necessary to support the convictions. In addition, the court has considered the man’s remaining contentions and finds them to be without merit. Moreover, the decision of conviction is affirmed.
A Queens Drug Possession Lawyer said that a traumatic incident such as sexual abuse and assault could give negative behavior or even a personality disorder to the person who experienced it. If the same incident happened to you and you want to fight for what you deserve, the Kings Sex Crime Lawyer can offer you legal guidance. If you’re the one who commit the crime and you want to protect you rights, you can have the Kings Criminal Lawyers at Stephen Bilkis and Associates.