Matter of State of New York v. Kenneth W.

131 A.D.3d 872, 16 N.Y.S.3d 733

Opinion

Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Daniel Me Cullough, J.), entered on or about January 28, 2014, which, upon a jury verdict that respondent suffers from a mental abnormality, determined, after a dispositional hearing, that he is a dangerous sex offender requiring confinement in a secure treatment facility, unanimously reversed, on the law, without costs, and the petition dismissed.

The verdict that respondent suffers from a mental abnormality is based on legally insufficient evidence. Evidence of an independent mental abnormality diagnosis is required to establish a mental abnormality within the meaning of Mental Hygiene Law article 10 (see Matter of State of New York v Donald DD., 24 NY3d 174, 190-191 [2014]). Here, we find that based on the trial evidence, a rational factfinder could not conclude that sexual preoccupation is an independent mental abnormality. The State failed to present evidence that sexual preoccupation is a condition that predisposes one to commit a sex offense and results in serious difficulty in controlling the sexually offending conduct (see Matter of State of New York v Gen C., 128 AD3d 467 [1st Dept 2015]; Mental Hygiene Law § 10.03 [i]).

Concur — Gonzalez, P.J., Sweeny, Renwick, Saxe and Feinman, JJ.