People v. Johnson

Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (William A. Wetzel, J), rendered August 10, 2004, convicting defendant, after a jury trial, of persistent sexual abuse, and sentencing him to a term of 2 to 4 years, unanimously affirmed.

The record does not establish that defendant was absent from a preliminary discussion of Sandoval issues at sidebar (see People v Foster, 1 NY3d 44, 48 [2003]; People v Smith, 208 AD2d 455 [1994], lv denied 84 NY2d 1039 [1995]). The jury was absent from the courtroom, and “it would be entirely speculative to conclude that the sidebar was conducted in a hushed dialogue…