POUGHKEEPSIE – A man convicted in Dutchess County Court of sexual misconduct against a child has lost his appeal.
Jeffrey Rodriguez pled guilty to the charge in August 2019.
He later appealed his conviction maintaining the court erred in determining, after a hearing, that he was fit to stand trial. The Appellate Division of State Supreme Court, Second Judicial Department, shot that down.
He also claimed he had ineffective legal counsel, but that, too, was rejected. “The defendant’s claim of ineffective assistance of counsel is refuted by the record of the plea proceeding, in which he acknowledged that he had been afforded sufficient time to consult with his attorney and was satisfied with his attorney’s representation, that he had not been forced into pleading guilty, and that he was entering the plea freely and voluntarily,” the appellate justices wrote in their May 26 decision.
