| People v Brown |
| 2015 NY Slip Op 05254 [129 AD3d 545] |
| June 18, 2015 |
| Appellate Division, First Department |
[*1](June 18, 2015)
| The People of the State of New York,Respondent, v Eric Brown, Appellant. |
Seymour W. James, Jr., The Legal Aid Society, New York (Susan Epstein ofcounsel), for appellant.
Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., District Attorney, New York (Martin J. Foncello of counsel), forrespondent.
Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Arlene D. Goldberg, J.), renderedOctober 18, 2010, convicting defendant, after a nonjury trial, of sexual abuse in the thirddegree, and sentencing him to a term of 90 days, unanimously affirmed.
The court properly exercised its discretion in admitting testimony that an officer sawdefendant follow closely behind four women immediately prior to placing his groin onthe victim's buttocks. This evidence was relevant to the contested issue of intent (seePeople v Alvino, 71 NY2d 233, 242 [1987]), and it tended to complete the narrative,explaining the events leading up to defendant's arrest (see People v Morris, 21 NY3d588 [2013]). Moreover, the court expressly stated that, as factfinder in this nonjurytrial, it would not draw any inference of propensity, and the court is deemed capable ofkeeping that promise (see People v Moreno, 70 NY2d 403 [1987]).Concur—Gonzalez, P.J., Tom, Friedman and Kapnick, JJ.