Matter of Rolando L.

137 A.D.3d 637, 26 N.Y.S.3d 855

• Court: Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
• Decided: March 24, 2016
• Docket: 587
• Status: Published

Opinion

Order, Family Court, Bronx County (Peter J. Passidomo, J.), entered on or about June 9, 2014, which adjudicated appellant a juvenile delinquent upon a fact-finding determination that he committed acts that, if committed by an adult, would constitute the crimes of criminal sexual act in the first degree, sexual abuse in the first and third degrees and sexual misconduct, and placed him on probation for a period of 15 months, unanimously affirmed, with costs.

The court providently exercised its discretion in precluding cross-examination of the victim regarding an allegation of sexual abuse he made against another person. The other complaint did not have a significant probative relation to the charges against appellant, and there was no factual showing of any likelihood that the allegations in the prior complaint were false (see People v Mandel, 48 NY2d 952, 953 [1979], cert denied 446 US 949 [1980]).

The court’s finding was based on legally sufficient evidence and was not against the weight of the evidence (see People v Danielson, 9 NY3d 342, 348-349 [2007]). There is no basis for disturbing the court’s determinations concerning credibility, including its evaluation of inconsistencies in testimony.

Concur—Tom, J.P., Friedman, Saxe and Richter, JJ.