PEOPLE, res, v. ANDREY IGNATYEV, def-ap

2666. PEOPLE, res, v. ANDREY IGNATYEV, def-ap — Seymour W. James, Jr., The Legal Aid Society, New York (Allen Fallek of counsel), for ap — Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., District Attorney, New York (Ellen Stanfield Friedman of counsel), for res — Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Cassandra M. Mullen, J.), rendered September 4, 2013, as amended September 24, 2013, convicting defendant, after a jury trial, of criminal sexual act in the first degree and sexual abuse in the first degree, and sentencing him to an aggregate term of 15 years, unanimously affirmed.

The court providently exercised its discretion in denying defendant’s challenge for cause to a prospective juror. The panelist’s responses to questioning by the attorneys and the court, viewed as a whole, provided an unequivocal assurance that he could keep an open mind and decide the case impartially based on the evidence (see People v. Chambers, 97 NY2d 417, 419 [2002]; People v. Dunkley, 61 AD3d 428 [1st Dept 2009], lv denied 12 NY3d 914 [2009]). Contrary to defendant’s contention, the panelist’s answers did not raise a “serious doubt” about his ability to apply the presumption of innocence (People v. Toliver, 102 AD3d 411, 412 [1st Dept 2013] [internal quotation marks omitted], lv denied 21 NY3d 1011 [2013]). In light of our conclusion, we need not reach the People’s alternative argument that defendant had failed to exhaust his peremptory challenges.