Dutchess County Court sexual assault conviction overturned on technicalities

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POUGHKEEPSIE – The conviction of a man on a charge of course of sexual conduct against a child based on his guilty plea has been reversed by the Appellate Division of State Supreme Court and remitted to Dutchess County Court for further proceedings on the indictment.

The appeals court decision said it was insufficient for the defendant, Brian Wolfe, just to be informed that a term of post-release supervision would be imposed without specifying the length of that term.

“It is not enough for a court to generally inform a defendant that a term of post-release supervision will be imposed as part of the sentence,” the court ruled. “Rather, for a plea of guilty to be knowing, intelligent, and voluntary, the court must inform the defendant of either the specific period of post-release supervision that will be imposed, or at the least, the maximum potential duration of post-release supervision that may be imposed.”

In this case, the appellate court ruled that the county court did not specify the period of post-release supervision to be imposed or the maximum potential length of that term.

As a result, the appeals court ruled “the judgment must be reversed, the plea of guilty vacated, and the matter remitted to the County Court, Dutchess County, for further proceedings on the indictment.”




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