People v. Johanson

2023 IL App (2d) 210690, 211 N.E.3d 902, 464 Ill. Dec. 31
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedJanuary 23, 2023
Docket2-21-0690
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 2023 IL App (2d) 210690 (People v. Johanson) 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. Johanson, 2023 IL App (2d) 210690, 211 N.E.3d 902, 464 Ill. Dec. 31 (Ill. Ct. App. 2023).

Opinion

2023 IL App (2d) 210690 No. 2-21-0690 Opinion filed January 23, 2023 ______________________________________________________________________________

IN THE

APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS

SECOND DISTRICT ______________________________________________________________________________

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE ) Appeal from the Circuit Court OF ILLINOIS, ) of McHenry County. ) Plaintiff-Appellee, ) ) v. ) No. 19-CF-578 ) KOREM M. JOHANSON, ) Honorable ) Michael E. Coppedge, Defendant-Appellant. ) Judge, Presiding. ______________________________________________________________________________

JUSTICE SCHOSTOK delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. Presiding Justice McLaren and Justice Birkett concurred in the judgment and opinion.

OPINION

¶1 Following a bench trial, defendant, Korem M. Johanson, was convicted of predatory

criminal sexual assault of a child, a Class X felony (720 ILCS 5/11-1.40(a)(1), (b)(1) (West 2018)).

Before sentencing, he moved the court to sentence him for aggravated criminal sexual abuse (id.

§ 11-1.60), a Class 2 felony (id. § 11-1.60(g)), instead of predatory criminal sexual assault of a

child. Defendant argued that sentencing him as a Class X offender for predatory criminal sexual

assault of a child violated the proportionate-penalties clause of the Illinois Constitution (Ill. Const.

1970, art. I, § 11) because predatory criminal sexual assault of a child and aggravated criminal

sexual abuse have identical elements but the punishment for predatory criminal sexual assault of

a child is more severe. The trial court denied the motion and sentenced defendant to 16 years’ 2023 IL App (2d) 210690

imprisonment for the Class X felony of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child. Defendant

timely appeals. We affirm.

¶2 I. BACKGROUND

¶3 The State charged defendant with five offenses related to the sexual abuse and assault of

his two children. Defendant was found guilty of only one count, concerning his daughter, A.J. That

count provided:

“That between the dates of July 1, 2019 and July 22, 2019, *** defendant

committed the offense of predatory criminal sexual assault, in that the said defendant, who

was seventeen years of age or older, knowingly committed an act of contact with A.J. ***

who was under thirteen years of age when the act was committed, in that defendant caused

[his] sex organ (penis) to make contact with the hand of A.J. for the purpose of the

defendant’s sexual gratification or arousal.”

¶4 After the trial court found defendant guilty, he moved the court to sentence him for

aggravated criminal sexual abuse, 1 a Class 2 felony, instead of predatory criminal sexual assault

1 Section 11-1.60 of the Criminal Code of 2012 (Code) (720 ILCS 5/11-1.60 (West 2018))

sets out several forms of aggravated criminal sexual abuse. In his motion to be sentenced for

aggravated criminal sexual abuse, defendant cited section 11-1.60(b) of the Code (id. § 11-

1.60(b)), which prohibits an act of “sexual conduct” with a victim who is under 18 years of age

and is a member of the defendant’s family. However, defendant’s proportionate-penalties

argument on appeal relies on section 11-1.60(c)(1)(i) of the Code (id. § 11-1.60(c)(1)(i)), which

prohibits a person 17 years old or older from engaging in “sexual conduct” with a person under 13

years of age. Notably, the State takes no issue with this disparity.

-2- 2023 IL App (2d) 210690

of a child, a Class X felony. Defendant argued that “the proportionate penalties clause is violated

as the conduct [he] was found guilty of having committed forms the basis for the violation of two

different offenses with identical elements yet vastly different sentences.” The State replied,

arguing only that all dispositions imposed by a court in a criminal case must be authorized by law.

¶5 Following a hearing, the trial court denied the motion, finding that predatory criminal

sexual assault of a child and aggravated criminal sexual abuse “do not have identical elements.”

The court elaborated:

“Predatory criminal sexual assault requires an act of contact, however slight. For

example, an accused could rub his penis on the back of the victim, and if he did so for

sexual gratification or arousal, he could be found guilty of predatory criminal sexual

assault. The contact must, however, involve the sex organ or anus. Aggravated criminal

sexual abuse requires an act of sexual conduct, not any contact. There must be a knowing

touching or fondling.

Regarding a child under 13, the touching or fondling does not have to involve the

sex organ, anus or breast. For example, massaging a naked child under the age of 13 for

sexual gratification can be aggravated criminal sexual abuse.

The two offenses, while similar, are not identical and evidence the intent of the

legislature to punish more severely contact that involves the sex organ or anus of the victim

or the accused. As noted, this is an identical elements test. It is not driven by the

consideration of the facts specific to a given case, and it is not sufficient that there is

substantial similarity. There must be identical elements.”

¶6 Subsequently, the court sentenced defendant to 16 years’ imprisonment for predatory

criminal sexual assault of a child. This timely appeal followed.

-3- 2023 IL App (2d) 210690

¶7 II. ANALYSIS

¶8 Defendant argues that his 16-year sentence for predatory criminal sexual assault of a child

violates the proportionate-penalties clause of the Illinois Constitution. We review de novo that

issue. See People v. Charleston, 2018 IL App (1st) 161323, ¶ 33.

¶9 “The proportionate penalties clause of the Illinois Constitution provides that ‘[a]ll penalties

shall be determined both according to the seriousness of the offense and with the objective of

restoring the offender to useful citizenship.’ ” People v. Brooks, 2022 IL App (3d) 190761, ¶ 11

(quoting Ill. Const. 1970, art. I, § 11).

“Criminal sentences may be found unconstitutionally disproportionate where: (1) the

punishment is cruel, degrading, or so wholly disproportionate to the offense as to shock the

moral sense of the community; (2) similar offenses are compared and the conduct that

results in a less serious threat to the public health and safety is punished more severely;

and (3) identical offenses are given different sentences.” Id.

¶ 10 Defendant bases his argument on the third scenario—when identical offenses result in

different sentences. He contends that predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, a Class X felony,

and aggravated criminal sexual abuse, a Class 2 felony, have identical elements but different

sentences. “ ‘[A]n identical elements proportionality violation arises out of the relationship

between two statutes—the challenged statute, and the comparison statute with which the

challenged statute is out of proportion.’ ” Id. (quoting People v. Blair, 2013 IL 114122, ¶ 32). “If

the two compared statutes exhibit identical elements, but result in different penalties, then one of

these penalties has not been set in accordance with the seriousness of the offense and is

unconstitutionally disproportionate.” Id.

-4- 2023 IL App (2d) 210690

¶ 11 With these principles in mind, we turn to the two statutes defendant compares in this

appeal.

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Bluebook (online)
2023 IL App (2d) 210690, 211 N.E.3d 902, 464 Ill. Dec. 31, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-johanson-illappct-2023.