People v. Alford, 12321

• Court: New York Supreme Court Appellate Division
• Parties: This memorandum reflects changes made by the Court on
• Decision Date: 25 October 2001
• Docket Number: 12321,3

This memorandum reflects changes made by the Court on January 29, 2002.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, Respondent,
v
STEVEN ALFORD, Appellant.

12321

SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
APPELLATE DIVISION: THIRD JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT

Calendar Date: September 12, 2001
Decided and Entered: October 25, 2001

David C. Roosa, South New Berlin, for appellant.

Richard D. Northrup Jr., District Attorney, Delhi, for respondent.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

Before: Crew III, J.P., Spain, Mugglin, Rose and Lahtinen, JJ.

Lahtinen, J.

Appeal from a judgment of the County Court of Delaware County (Estes, J.), rendered September 29, 1997, convicting defendant following a nonjury trial of the crimes of rape in the first degree, rape in the third degree, sexual abuse in the first degree and endangering the welfare of a child.

Defendant was indicted by a Delaware County Grand Jury for the crimes of rape in the first degree, rape in the third degree, sexual abuse in the first degree and endangering the welfare of a child. The charges stemmed from a November 27, 1996 incident at an apartment in the Village of Walton, Delaware County, in which defendant, then 32 years of age, forced the then 15-year-old victim to have sexual intercourse with him. Convicted of all the charges after a nonjury trial, defendant was sentenced as a persistent felony offender to an indeterminate prison term of 25 years to life on his conviction for rape in the first degree, and concurrent lesser sentences on the other convictions. Defendant now appeals claiming that the evidence was legally insufficient to support each conviction, that the verdict was against the weight of the evidence and that his sentence was harsh and excessive.

Defendant initially argues that the evidence presented was legally insufficient to establish his guilt and the verdict was against the weight of the evidence. We disagree. The victim testified that she was born in May 1981 and on November 27, 1996 she went with a friend to Keith Maler's apartment about 9:30 P.M. where she met and talked to defendant. They first spoke in the living room and then proceeded to a bedroom off the kitchen where, shortly after they arrived, defendant began to take off her shirt. She told defendant to stop but he removed the shirt and, with his arm around her, removed her pants, shoved her on the bed, got himself undressed and raped her. She testified that she repeatedly told him to stop but made no attempt to escape...