People v. Booker

2023 IL App (1st) 220318-U
Appellate Court of Illinois·Decided April 13, 2023·No. 1-22-0318·Unpublished

Opinion

2023 IL App (1st) 220318-U FOURTH DIVISION

Order filed April 13, 2023

No. 1-22-0318

NOTICE: This order was filed under Supreme Court Rule 23 and is not precedent except in the limited circumstances allowed under Rule 23(e)(1).

IN THE

APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS FIRST DISTRICT

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, ) Appeal from the ) Circuit Court of Cook Plaintiff-Appellee, ) County.

)

v. ) No. 19 CR 5791 )

CHARLIE BOOKER ) Honorable ) Stanley J. Sacks,

Defendant-Appellant. ) Judge, presiding.

JUSTICE HOFFMAN delivered the judgment of the court.

Presiding Justice Lampkin and Justice Rochford concurred in the judgment.

ORDER

¶ 1 Held: We affirmed the defendant’s conviction and sentence where the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it admitted evidence of other crimes, and the defendant forfeited review of his argument that the trial court erred in allowing evidence of a statement by the victim to an emergency department physician by inviting the error.

¶2 The defendant, Charlie Booker, appeals from the judgment of the Circuit Court of Cook County finding him guilty of two counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault (720 ILCS 5/11-

1.30(a)(3) (West 2018)) and sentencing him to an aggregate term of 35 years’ incarceration. On appeal, the defendant contends that the trial court abused its discretion when it admitted evidence of other crimes committed by the defendant in Memphis, Tennessee, three months after the alleged conduct in this case, and that the trial court abused its discretion when it allowed a physician to testify regarding statements the victim made in an emergency room when she sought treatment following the alleged sexual assault. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.

¶3 The defendant was charged in a 19-count indictment with, inter alia, aggravated criminal sexual assault (penis to mouth) (720 ILCS 5/11-1.30(a)(3) (West 2018)), aggravated criminal sexual assault (penis to sex organ) (720 ILCS 5/11-1.30(a)(3) (West 2018)), and aggravated battery (strangling) (720 ILCS 5/12-3.05(a)(5) (West 2018)). The State elected not to proceed on the remaining 16 counts. Following a jury trial, during which he appeared pro se, the defendant was found guilty of two counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault and one count of aggravated battery. Counsel was appointed to assist the defendant with post-trial motions and filed a motion for a new trial. That motion was denied, and the trial court entered judgment on the aggravated criminal sexual assault charges and sentenced the defendant to two 17½-year terms of imprisonment for an aggregate term of 35 years. The trial court vacated the aggravated battery count “deeming” it the force used in the other two offenses. The defendant moved to reconsider his sentence and the trial court denied the motion. This appeal follows.

¶4 The following facts are taken from the report of proceedings and common law record. On May 2, 2019, the grand jury returned an indictment charging the defendant with, among other things, two counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault. The defendant was initially represented by a public defender but elected to proceed pro se and demand trial.

¶5 Before trial, the State moved to admit evidence of other crimes arguing that the evidence would demonstrate the defendant’s propensity to commit sex crimes and lack of consent. The State alleged that the defendant had been involved in two additional sexual assaults, one in Chicago and one in Memphis. On December 9, 2019, the trial court held a hearing on the State’s motion. After describing the expected evidence, the State argued that the assaults were similar because: they all involved African American women in their twenties; the assaults occurred between midnight and 4:30 am; the defendant lured the women to a secluded area using false pretenses; he vaginally and orally raped all three women using a threat of force; and, in the case being tried and in the Memphis case, the defendant actually used force. The State further argued that in the Memphis case and the case being tried, the defendant stole the victims’ belongings and drove away from the scene.

¶6 The defendant responded arguing that the Memphis case should not be used because although there was an outstanding warrant for his arrest “[t]here’s not no official charge.”

¶7 After hearing the parties’ arguments, the trial court ruled that the other crimes evidence would be admitted, finding that it was relevant to show propensity, identification, and a lack of consent.

¶8 At trial, C.C. testified that she was 24 years old, and had two young children. C.C. testified that in April 2018, she lost her job and was unsuccessfully looking for work. After speaking with a friend, she decided to try prostitution to earn some money. On April 19, 2018, C.C. and two other women went to the west side of Chicago. C.C. had two “dates” that “went well.” During each date she met a man who paid her for sexual acts. C.C. placed half of the money she received in her pocket and half in her boot.

¶9 At approximately 4:30 a.m., a man, identified as the defendant, pulled up in a car. They spoke and C.C. agreed to give the defendant oral sex in exchange for $60. C.C. got into the defendant’s car, and they drove “out of the league,” further from the spot where he picked her up than C.C. felt comfortable with. The defendant parked in an alley. C.C. told the defendant that she did not feel comfortable because it was too dark. The defendant circled the block but returned to the same alley. He did not, however, pull as far into the alley.

¶ 10 C.C. tried to give the defendant oral sex in the front seat but decided the car was too small and got into the back seat. The defendant got out, walked to the back, and got back into the car. As C.C. turned toward the defendant to perform oral sex on him, he put his hands around her neck, and began squeezing. C.C. had trouble breathing and felt helpless and scared. The defendant told C.C. to do what he told her, or he would hurt her. C.C. told the defendant that it was not necessary because she was already out doing anything for money. C.C. reached for the door handle, but the defendant tightened his grip on her neck and repeated his warning that if she did not comply, he would hurt her.

¶ 11 C.C. told the defendant that she would do whatever he wanted if he would just let her go. The defendant told her to turn around and put his penis in her mouth. When C.C. would not do so voluntarily, the defendant forced his penis into her mouth. The defendant placed one hand on C.C.’s head and one hand on her neck and forced her to move her head giving him oral sex. The defendant asked C.C. to take her pants off, and she complied because she “had to.” The defendant inserted his penis into her vagina from behind. The defendant was not wearing a condom. C.C. was crying and tried to look at the defendant “so that he could see the hurt.” The defendant told her not to look at him and continued assaulting her until he ejaculated.

¶ 12 After the defendant finished assaulting C.C., he asked her what she had on her, how much money she had made. She told him that she had a phone, money, and a benefits card. The defendant went through her pockets and took those items. The defendant also took the money she had in her boot. The defendant told C.C. to crawl out of the car and not move until he drove away. C.C. was only wearing one boot at this time; the defendant kept her other boot and belongings with him as he drove away. C.C. got up and began running until she reached a gas station. There she asked to borrow a stranger’s phone and called her “mom-in-law,” Laskieuse Whiting, the grandmother of one of her children. C.C. told Whiting that she had been raped and asked her to meet her. C.C. was taken to Rush Hospital, and Whiting met her there.

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