People v. Boland

563 N.E.2d 963, 205 Ill. App. 3d 1009, 150 Ill. Dec. 836, 1990 Ill. App. LEXIS 1694
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedNovember 5, 1990
Docket1-88-1900
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 563 N.E.2d 963 (People v. Boland) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Boland, 563 N.E.2d 963, 205 Ill. App. 3d 1009, 150 Ill. Dec. 836, 1990 Ill. App. LEXIS 1694 (Ill. Ct. App. 1990).

Opinion

JUSTICE CAMPBELL

delivered the opinion of the court:

Following a jury trial in the circuit court of Cook County, defendant was convicted of aggravated criminal sexual assault and aggravated criminal sexual abuse. (111. Rev. Stat. 1985, ch. 38, pars. 12 — 14(a)(2), 12 — 16(d).) The court sentenced defendant to 16 years’ imprisonment, followed by three years of mandatory supervised release. Defendant appeals on the grounds that: (1) his rights under the fifth, sixth and fourteenth amendments to the United States Constitution were violated by the denial of a continuance at trial; (2) the prosecutor improperly commented on the element of bodily harm in closing argument; (3) the sentence is excessive; and (4) the indictment was fatally defective regarding the mental state for the crimes charged. We affirm.

The complaining witness, M.R., age 13, testified that she was born on April 6, 1974. She left her house at about 4 p.m. on May 11, 1987, to pay a bill for her mother. On her way back home, she was grabbed from behind by the upper arms. Turning her head, she could see the person grabbing her was a man (later identified as defendant) whom she had known on a very casual basis for about 2Vz years.

Defendant dragged complainant across the street and released her several houses into an alley. A garage stood inches behind complainant, and defendant stood a few inches in front of her.

Defendant pulled complainant’s shorts and panties to her knees. He then knocked her to the ground. Complainant’s arms were pinned behind her. She yelled at defendant to leave her alone, but did not run away because defendant held her shoulders. Defendant then unzipped his pants and got on top of complainant. He took his penis out of his pants and placed it inside her vagina. He then lay on top of her as she continued to protest. Defendant laughed most of the time.

After a few minutes, defendant got up and left. Complainant put her pants on and went to her aunt’s nearby home because her mother would still be at work. After hearing what happened, complainant’s aunt (Laura), called complainant’s mother (Gloria) and then took complainant home. Complainant told Gloria what happened. Gloria called the police about an hour later. After the police arrived and spoke with complainant, they returned with her to the alley so that she could identify the area. The police then patrolled the area with complainant, looking unsuccessfully for defendant. Later, the officers took complainant to the hospital, where she was examined.

Laura testified in corroboration of complainant’s testimony that on May 11, 1987, at about 5 p.m., her niece came to the house. She testified that her niece was crying, had bruises on both arms, a red face and dirt on the back of her clothes. The niece told Laura what happened and asked her to call Gloria, which she did. Laura took complainant to Gloria’s home and then left.

Gloria then testified in corroboration of complainant’s testimony. The mother testified that on the date in question, at about 5:30 p.m., she received a phone call from Laura. Shortly thereafter, complainant arrived home, with dirty clothes, scratches on at least one arm and a reddened face. Gloria spoke with complainant, but did not call the police for one hour because she initially did not want her daughter to go through an investigation or trial.

Officer Jeffrey Johnson testified that he went to complainant’s home at about 6:55 p.m. on May 11, 1987. After noting complainant’s physical appearance and speaking with her, they went to the alley, toured the area to look for defendant and went to the hospital. Detective George Patton testified that he met with complainant at the hospital on the evening of May 11. He observed her physical and emotional state. As a result of speaking with complainant, he was able to obtain a photograph of a person who was identified as defendant by complainant on May 12, 1987. Defendant was then taken into custody and identified by complainant in a one-on-one showup.

It was later stipulated that defendant was born on February 18, 1969, making defendant more than five years older than complainant. Finally, Dr. Neal Winston testified about his examination of complainant at the hospital. He noted her age and the condition of her clothing. He then noted bruises and sets of parallel scratch marks on both of her forearms, pressure marks on her face and pain in the superpubic areas of her body. A gynecological examination revealed a slight reddening of the labia, which would be consistent with sexual penetration. A urinalysis ruled out infection as a possible cause of the reddening. Samples were taken for a Vitullo kit.

The State rested its case in the morning. The record does not reflect the exact time. Defense counsel moved to recess until 2 p.m. so that a witness, Jessica Risa, could arrive to testify. The trial court recessed until 2:05 p.m. Defense counsel then moved to recess until 2:30 p.m. because its investigator had not yet arrived with the witness. After hearing that defense counsel was unsure of the witness’ exact testimony and that the witness was not currently under subpoena, the court denied the continuance. Defendant was the only other witness for the defense. Defense counsel stated that he did not believe that defendant could knowledgeably exercise his right to testify until after the witness testified. Nevertheless, the trial proceeded.

Defendant testified that on May 11, 1987, he was with a friend at the corner of 89th and Exchange from 4 p.m. until about 4:15 or 4:30 p.m., when he rode a bike down Commercial. He saw Jessica Risa during the bike ride. He then returned to 89th and Exchange at 5 p.m., where he remained until about 7 p.m. Defendant further testified that he knew complainant on a “hi and bye” basis, but did not see, grab or have intercourse with her on May 11. He also denied knowing the identity of the complainant at the time of his arrest.

On cross-examination, defendant testified that he had spoken about the case to Assistant State’s Attorney Nick Trutenko, but did not remember if he mentioned the bike ride. The State later called Nick Trutenko as a rebuttal witness to testify that defendant had told him that defendant was at the corner of 89th and Exchange from about 3:45 to 5 p.m. and that defendant had never seen complainant before the one-on-one showup. In rebuttal testimony, defendant testified that he believed Detective Patton would lie on the stand, but could offer no reason for his belief.

After defendant’s testimony, the trial court granted defense counsel’s request for a brief recess. Jessisa Risa then testified that she saw defendant riding his bike at 91st and Commercial at some time between 4:15 and 4:30 p.m. on the date in question. Ms. Risa testified that she remembered this event after hearing about defendant’s arrest from a friend. On cross-examination, however, Ms. Risa testified that she could not say under oath that she saw defendant on May 11, 1987.

Following a stipulation of defendant’s prior conviction for robbery, rebuttal testimony and closing arguments, the court denied defendant’s motion for a mistrial. The jury found defendant guilty of aggravated criminal sexual assault and aggravated criminal sexual abuse.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

People v. Martinez
2011 IL App (2d) 100498 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2011)
People v. Brooks
803 N.E.2d 626 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2004)
People v. McClain
Appellate Court of Illinois, 2003
People v. Norfleet
630 N.E.2d 1231 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1994)
People v. Andersen
604 N.E.2d 424 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1992)
People v. Ward
609 N.E.2d 252 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1992)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
563 N.E.2d 963, 205 Ill. App. 3d 1009, 150 Ill. Dec. 836, 1990 Ill. App. LEXIS 1694, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-boland-illappct-1990.