People v. Houck

365 N.E.2d 576, 50 Ill. App. 3d 274, 8 Ill. Dec. 338, 1977 Ill. App. LEXIS 2936
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedJune 17, 1977
Docket63194
StatusPublished
Cited by34 cases

This text of 365 N.E.2d 576 (People v. Houck) 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. Houck, 365 N.E.2d 576, 50 Ill. App. 3d 274, 8 Ill. Dec. 338, 1977 Ill. App. LEXIS 2936 (Ill. Ct. App. 1977).

Opinion

Mr. PRESIDING JUSTICE SULLIVAN

delivered the opinion of the court:

Following a jury trial defendant was found guilty of rape and sentenced to serve a term of 6 to 15 years. On appeal, he presents the following issues for review: (1) whether he was proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt; (2) whether he was denied a fair trial by certain evidentiary rulings; (3) whether prosecutorial misconduct denied him a fair trial; (4) whether he was denied due process of law by the State’s suppression of exculpatory evidence; (5) whether the trial court committed reversible error by refusing to give a battery instruction; and (6) whether his sentence was excessive.

It appears that complainant, Lucy Fitzpatrick, left work at 11:30 p.m. and began to drive home. Sometime before midnight her vehicle stalled due to an overheated radiator. She accepted an offer of assistance from defendant and, in his vehicle, they proceeded westward along Route 72 in search of an open gas station to obtain water for her automobile’s steaming radiator. Finding none, after a 20- to 40-minute search, defendant drove to a trailer court located next to a forest preserve along Route 72 where he obtained plastic containers which he filled with water from a nearby stream. Although their testimony conflicts concerning the routes taken to the trailer park and whether Lucy expressed a desire either to telephone her husband or to be driven home, they were in accord that up to the time defendant had filled the bottles, his behavior toward her was courteous and that he appeared conscientious in his efforts to assist her. Further, they are in agreement that an act of sexual intercourse occurred in defendant’s car after he returned with the water; however, their testimony is substantially divergent regarding the circumstances surrounding this act.

Complainant testified that after placing the water containers in the back seat, defendant reached for her hand. When she recoiled and stated that she would rather walk, he announced that he would seduce her. In attempting to exit the car, she unlocked the passenger door 10 times, but defendant reset the lock on each occasion. She was then pulled into a horizontal position with her head toward the steering wheel. Meanwhile, she pleaded with him to let her go, reminding him that she was married. Defendant cupped her mouth, stifling any screams, and clenched his fist as if to hit her when she tried to bite him. He then threatened to use a knife, stating he would hurt her as he had someone else; but he did not produce a knife. When she tried to push him away, he began choking her with both hands and then put one hand over her mouth as he used the other to pull down her panties and pantyhose to her ankles. He lowered his own pants to his knees and began manipulating her vagina with his finger. He then penetrated her vagina with his penis and said, “I am Rad Jerry.” When she continued her struggle, he got angry and returned to the driver’s seat, stating that she would not get away with such actions. He began to exit the park, using one hand on the steering wheel and the other alternately to hold her left arm and to lock the passenger door each time she attempted to escape. When defendant had to use both hands to execute a U-tum, she jumped from the moving car. In so doing, she fell and her purse dropped on the road.

Defendant, on the other hand, testified that when he returned to the automobile she was sitting in a slouched position in the seat, with her legs propped up in such a way that “he could see everything she had, just about.” He suggested that they copulate and, when she agreed, he assisted her in disrobing and they made love for 20 minutes. After they had dressed, he drove out of the trailer park and, when he stopped to make a U-tum, she got out of the car, fell down, and then began to run. He estimated that they had been together for about an hour prior to the time of the intercourse.

It was complainant’s testimony that after escaping from the car she ran screaming to the trailer park and knocked on the doors of several trailers before gaining any attention. In the fourth trailer', Ronald Finley turned on the lights and opened the door to her. She inquired whether there was a lady in the house and, once assured that a woman was present, she entered the trailer. She asked to use the telephone and insisted that Finley not touch her and also that he leave the door open. Finley testified that her hair was messed up, she appeared shaken, and he had difficulty in making sense of her conversation. She telephoned her husband at home to no avail and then called his place of business — where she spoke to David Brunner, a co-worker of her husband.

When Brunner testified, he said that he had difficulty understanding her but he did ascertain that she had trouble with her car and offered to drive her home. When he arrived at the trailer some 15 minutes later, she first came to him but then, without explanation, backed away. He noticed that she had been crying and that she spoke incoherently about her purse. She, Finley and Brunner entered the latter’s car intending to find her car and push it off the road. As they passed the spot where her purse had fallen, Brunner saw articles scattered on the road and reached for her hand, but she demanded that he not touch her as she had just been raped. Finley corroborated the circumstances surrounding this exclamation, but he quoted her as saying, “I think I have been raped.” They did not stop to pick up the purse or its contents but drove directly to a nearby restaurant, where Brunner telephoned the police.

Defendant testified that after complainant left his car, he had to leave the scene to clear the way for another motorist. He did, however, return to the park but could not find her. When he arrived home, he told his wife that he had assisted a woman motorist and that she had jumped out of his car.

After Brunner’s phone call, several police vehicles, an ambulance, and complainant’s husband soon arrived at the restaurant. The latter and one of the officers testified to her shaken and excited condition at this time. She told the police that she did not wish' to be taken to the closest hospital — which was her place of employment, because of the embarrassment. A police sergeant purportedly directed that she be transported to a more distant hospital.

At the hospital, she first examined herself and observed some bleeding from the vagina. A doctor who had examined her testified that he observed redness of her neck, knuckles, and the skin close to the vagina. He also found a two to three millimeter laceration located three centimeters inside of the vagina, which could have been caused by severe pressure such as that produced by forcibly inserting a penis into the vagina. Although he did not notice any bleeding, the doctor said that the laceration was recent in origin and that any blood may have disappeared through the passage of time or could have been wiped away. He also discovered a brownish-yellowish secretion which, in his opinion, could have included old blood cells — meaning cells which were more than an hour or so old. Notwithstanding the fact that her blood pressure was within the normal range for her age and that she appeared alert and coherent, the doctor prescribed valium to help relax her. On cross-examination, he referred to the marks on her neck as bruises. Complainant, her husband, and Investigator Smith had simply described them as red marks or red compressions.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
365 N.E.2d 576, 50 Ill. App. 3d 274, 8 Ill. Dec. 338, 1977 Ill. App. LEXIS 2936, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-houck-illappct-1977.