Justice William Kelly
A sex offender classification hearing was held under Correction Law §168 to classify Wright, who was convicted of promoting an obscene sexual performance by a child. The Risk Assessment Instrument (RAI) contained a recommendation which was the presumptive risk level to be applied to an offender, and Wright received 110 points, making him a presumptive level 3 offender. Wright contested the score regarding several categories. The court noted a forensic psychiatrist concluded, after review and examination of Wright, that he posed a low risk of re-offense. He noted the RAI was a poor gauge of risk level when applied to offenders convicted of child pornography offenses, specifically categories assessing points for number of victims and the relationship between offender and victims were inapplicable in such cases. The court noted Wright had a small number of uncategorized images and did not access them through a paid subscription, stating he has had adult relationships and no history of sexual contact with children. It ruled, consistent with the Board of Examiners of Sex Offenders’ position paper, Wright was a level 1 offender, which properly reflected Wright’s risk to re-offend, and no upward modification was warranted.
