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Martin J. Rothschild is led away in handcuffs after sentencing in 2013 in County Court.

(Dick Blume | dblume@syracuse.com)

Syracuse, NY -- Disbarred lawyer Martin J. Rothschild will be a Level 1 sex offender when he's released from prison in a few weeks after serving three years for child porn, a judge ruled today.

That means Rothschild's name, photo and address will not appear in the public sex registry when he's released from prison. Only Level 2 and Level 3 sex offenders are listed on the website.

A judge made the decision today during a hearing that Rothschild -- who is still in prison -- declined to attend.

Rothschild, 63, once a well-known East Syracuse personal injury lawyer, went to prison in 2013 for collecting child pornography and posting it on the social media sharing site, Tumblr. He was charged in connection with 30 images.

Today, prosecutor Jeremy Cali said that Rothschild had a total of 1,600 illegal images.

But the state board that proposes sex offender ratings and two doctors recommended that Rothschild be rated a Level 1 offender, meaning he has a low assessed risk of re-offending.

The doctors used terms like "very low" and "extremely low" when describing Rothschild's risk level, County Court Judge Anthony Aloi noted.

Rothschild's lawyer for today's hearing, George Hildebrandt, noted that his client had undergone treatment in prison for his addiction to child porn.

The state uses a point system to come up with a suggested rating level. The judge ruled that Rothschild's offenses added up to 80 points, which typically results in a Level 2 designation -- and listing on the public database.

But Aloi noted that he has ultimate discretion to make the decision. That's when he pointed to the recommendations from the state Board of Examiners of Sex Offenders and the two doctors as evidence that Rothschild's rating should be a Level 1.

Under law, Rothschild's information will remain in a private file for 20 years. He will be 83 years old by the time he's removed from the state's list, Aloi noted.

While the state cannot list Rothschild's information in the public database, it can confirm he's on the registry if requested by name.