People v. Burgin

392 N.E.2d 251, 74 Ill. App. 3d 58, 29 Ill. Dec. 694, 1979 Ill. App. LEXIS 2847
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedJune 25, 1979
Docket77-1886
StatusPublished
Cited by30 cases

This text of 392 N.E.2d 251 (People v. Burgin) 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. Burgin, 392 N.E.2d 251, 74 Ill. App. 3d 58, 29 Ill. Dec. 694, 1979 Ill. App. LEXIS 2847 (Ill. Ct. App. 1979).

Opinion

Mr. PRESIDING JUSTICE GOLDBERG

delivered the opinion of the court:

Following a jury trial, Willie H. Burgin (defendant) was found guilty of rape (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1975, ch. 38, par. 11— 1), and sentenced to 50 to 100 years. Defendant has appealed.

Defendant’s brief in this court raises nine issues. This opinion will summarize the evidence, consider the issue of reasonable doubt and then consider each of the remaining issues.

The complainant, a full-time summer student at Northwestern University in Evanston, testified that on Saturday night, July 3,1976, after dinner, she walked from her apartment to the library. She left the library at approximately 10 p.m. and walked toward home alone. The area was well lighted. Not many students were on campus that night.

A man wearing a faded light blue, patchwork, waist-length, blue-jean jacket and riding a bicycle, rode past her on her left. He made a U-tum and came straight at her. He said, “Let me get on you for five minutes.” She continued to walk. The man then came up behind her on her right. He grabbed her arm with both his hands and while straddling his bicycle stated, “I’m trying to talk to you.” Complainant told him, “Let go of me. I’m going home.” She then tried to draw her arm away. The man just grabbed her arm tighter and said, “Don’t do that.” She again told him to let go of her and that she was going home. While continuing to hold her arm, he asked her if she lived “with her people.” She said, “Yes, on Chicago Avenue.” That was not really where she lived. During this time complainant was looking for other people who could help her. She saw no one.

As she tried to draw away, she felt her hand “being pushed down towards his crotch.” He then told her he just wanted to talk to her. After further conversation, she tried to draw her arm away. The man said, “I’m stronger than you. Don’t make me hit you.” At the time, complainant was wearing hard contact lenses. She testified that this made her fearful of being hit in the eyes. She asked him not to hit her and he told her, “Let’s go that way and talk.” The man started pushing her toward a darker area. She tried to go over toward a lighter one. The man told her to stop that and dropped his bicycle to the ground. He then said, “Let’s go down here.” He indicated a driveway that led underground. Complainant tried to get away and the man asked her if she was afraid of him. She told him that she was. He said, “Don’t make me hurt you. I’ll hurt you.” At that time he was walking the complainant down the driveway. He again repeated, “I’ll hit you.” The driveway had concrete walls which became higher as they descended. There were no lights there.

As the man was pulling the complainant down the driveway, she said, “Please don’t hurt me. I’m a virgin.” He continued walking her down and put her against one wall. He then kissed or tried to kiss her on the mouth, undid her pants, and pulled her pants and underpants down to her feet. He then sat her on the ground by pushing her shoulders down. The man was trying to keep her from curling up while she was rocking back and forth saying, “No, don’t do it, please.” Complainant thought she heard someone at the top of the driveway. She was too scared to scream. She started to talk in a loud voice saying, “Please don’t do it, just stop.” The man said, “We’ll have none of that. Just let me in for five minutes.” He was grabbing complainant by the shoulders and had her head up. She was afraid that her head would hit the cement floor. He then had intercourse with her and left the scene. Complainant then began walking up the sidewalk toward a building where she knew there was a telephone. In a few minutes, she saw a couple in front of a building. She walked up to them and stated, “I’ve just been raped.”

The complainant made an in-court identification of defendant as the man who had intercourse with her. On cross-examination she stated that she had attended a campus karate course for 8 weeks with two sessions of 2 hours each per week.

The couple that complainant saw were Jason Cortina and Valerie Brown. They testified that she was staggering and appeared to be breathing deeply and most rapidly. Also, she was sobbing. She told them, “I’ve just been raped.” Then she began to scream. They walked toward the telephone together.

Complainant described her assailant to them as a black man, 5 feet 7 inches tall to 5 feet 8 inches tall. He had a mustache and goatee, and his hair was cut in a 2-inch afro style. She told them that he was riding a multispeed bicycle. She continued to sob. The police were called. Neither Brown nor Cortina saw anyone else on campus that night before they saw the complainant. They did not hear any loud noises, screams or cries for help.

The police arrived about 5 minutes after the telephone call. Complainant returned to the scene of the attack with the police officers and then was taken to the Evanston Hospital emergency room by Detective Glanz.

The complainant was examined by Doctor Ralph Tamura, assisted by Nurse Bonita Rich. The doctor observed that she appeared anxious and that she had a bruised area on her left elbow. The nurse noted that she was emotionally upset. The nurse did not notice any rips or tears in complainant’s clothing; nor did she observe any cuts, bruises or lacerations on complainant’s body.

After leaving the hospital, the complainant and a girlfriend went to the Evanston Police Station where complainant described to Detective Glanz what had happened to her. She described her attacker and looked through a number of photographs. The next day complainant described her attacker to a police artist who made a composite drawing of the suspect.

At approximately 8 p.m. on July 4, 1976, based on the description supplied by complainant, the police picked up the defendant in Evanston. At the police station Detective Glanz advised defendant of his constitutional rights and defendant stated that he understood. The detective also informed defendant that he matched the description of a suspect who was wanted for a rape that had occurred on Northwestern campus the previous night. Defendant stated that he had not raped anyone. He had been with his people (his aunt and uncle) until 10 p.m. on July 3. Later defendant told a police officer that he had been on Northwestern campus the night of July 3 and had encountered a girl there and they had had sexual intercourse. This was around 10 p.m. that night. A written statement was taken in which defendant claimed that the girl had initiated both the meeting and the intercourse. He stated that he told her his name and where he worked. He denied ever threatening her.

Complainant identified defendant in a lineup. Defendant asked if he could see the complainant. The detective asked complainant’s permission, which she gave. A police detective asked defendant if the complainant was the girl with whom he had sexual intercourse. The defendant said that she was the girl.

The State also called another Northwestern student who was raped on the campus 2 weeks before the attack on complainant. The student identified defendant in court as her assailant. She testified that on Saturday, June 19, 1976, around 8:30 p.m., while she was walking on the campus she saw defendant ride past her on a bicycle. He stopped his bicycle just ahead of her and got off.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
392 N.E.2d 251, 74 Ill. App. 3d 58, 29 Ill. Dec. 694, 1979 Ill. App. LEXIS 2847, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-burgin-illappct-1979.