People v. Johnson

515 N.E.2d 137, 161 Ill. App. 3d 551, 113 Ill. Dec. 328, 1987 Ill. App. LEXIS 3283
Appellate Court of Illinois·Decided August 13, 1987·No. 85-3000·Published·Cited by 3 cases

Opinion

JUSTICE LINN

delivered the opinion of the court:

After a bench trial, defendant, Ruben Johnson, was convicted of one count of criminal sexual assault, three counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault, and one count of unlawful restraint. He was sentenced to concurrent prison terms of 15 years on all charges.

On appeal, he contends: (1) he was not proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt; (2) multiple convictions of aggravated criminal sexual assault predicated on aggravated battery and unlawful restraint are improper and redundant; and (3) the court improperly considered certain aggravating factors during the sentencing hearing.

We affirm as modified.

Background

Complainant testified that she met Johnson January 25, 1985, when he was in a cafeteria line at the Woolworth’s store where she worked. Complainant was serving food at the time and Johnson initiated a conversation. He asked her out for a drink, which she refused, and he then began to give her “a hard way to go.”

When she finished working for the day, complainant went across the street to a restaurant for a drink. A friend of hers, Cathy Jones, was also in the bar. Johnson approached complainant, introduced himself and apologized for his behavior at the store. He bought her a drink and they began conversing. Complainant’s friend left shortly thereafter.

During the course of the conversation, complainant told Johnson that she was interested in moving to the north side of the city. He invited her. to come to his apartment building on the north side, which he claimed had some vacant apartments that he could show her. The two left and took the el to Johnson’s neighborhood. On the way, Johnson purchased beer, vodka, and cigarettes.

At the apartment building, complainant spoke briefly to the desk clerk, who indicated that he knew Johnson. She followed him to his one-room apartment. Johnson offered her a beer, which she accepted. She stood by the window for a period of time, drinking, after which she turned around and saw Johnson sitting in a chair, naked from the waist down.

She told Johnson, “I don’t know what you are looking at me for, because I am not going to do anything.” He stood up and opened the bottle of vodka, telling complainant to take a drink. She refused, and he hit her on the left side of the face. He again demanded that she take a drink, which she did, and then another. She testified that she did as she was told because she was frightened.

Johnson then ordered complainant to lie on the bed. He also told her to remove her clothes. When she refused, Johnson hit her and repeated his demand. She removed her clothes and lay on the bed, crying.

Johnson grabbed complainant by the arm, forced her onto her stomach and anally raped her. She began screaming and asked him to stop because of the pain. Johnson hit her again on the side of the face and told her to shut up. He then lay on the bed and forced her to perform fellatio. He hit her in the face, telling her that she was not doing it right, and grabbed her by the hair. He forcibly moved her head up and down for approximately five minutes. Then Johnson vaginally raped her.

Complainant asked to use the bathroom. Once inside,' she attempted to lock the bathroom door and to open a second door she saw in the bathroom. She was unsuccessful. Johnson then entered the bathroom, hit complainant into a wall, and ordered her out. He threw her onto the bed, where he again anally raped her.

Complainant testified that each time she screamed or asked Johnson to stop he hit her. When he finished this rape, he gave her a beer and rifled through her purse. She defecated on the floor when she stood up and he hit her again, ordering her to clean it up.

Johnson grabbed complainant by the neck and threw her onto the bed. He began choking her and she screamed, asking him to stop. He got up and grabbed a hammer, which he raised over her, but did not strike her with it. Johnson then went to the kitchen, ate some food, and went to sleep on the bed.

Complainant testified that she sat at the foot of the bed, hugging her knees. She was frightened. She eventually fell asleep in that position. At 6 a.m. Johnson awakened and ordered her out of the apartment.

Once she returned home, she washed herself and put on pajamas. When she could no longer stand the pain from her injuries she called a friend to take her to the hospital. She testified that she did not want to tell anyone but the police what had happened. She told her friend • and the hospital desk clerk that she had been robbed and beaten. The clerk telephoned police. She was examined by medical personnel. Nine days after the attack, her injuries were photographed.

Complainant told the police that Johnson had forced her to accompany him by threatening to kill her. At trial, however, she explained that she lied about that because she was afraid that nothing would be done if she told them that she had voluntarily accompanied Johnson.

Approximately one week after the offenses, complainant found Johnson staring at her at Woolworth’s. She immediately telephoned the detectives assigned to the case. Early the next morning the detectives drove complainant around Johnson’s neighborhood until she was able to identify the building. She also saw Johnson and identified him as the one who raped her. He was arrested.

A friend and co-worker of complainant’s testified at trial. She corroborated complainant’s testimony as to Johnson’s harassment in the cafeteria line. She was the one who drove complainant to the hospital the day following the offenses and testified that she observed that complainant had a black eye on the left side of her face, that her face and lips were swollen, and that she had scratches on her neck. She also testified that complainant complained of the pain.

The stipulations of two doctors were admitted into evidence. The medical stipulations corroborated the existence of multiple facial bruises, swelling and black eye. The reports also indicated no evidence of trauma to complainant’s anus or vagina, although the presence of sperm in the vagina was noted.

The defense motion for directed finding was denied. Johnson offered into evidence the stipulation of the officer who had interviewed complainant on January 27, 1985. The stipulation recorded the officer’s testimony that complainant had said Johnson threatened her life if she did not accompany him to the apartment.

Following closing arguments, the court made a number of findings, including one that complainant was “an extremely believable witness.” The court entered judgment on 5 out of 36 counts of the indictment and dismissed the remainder.

At the sentencing hearing the State offered in aggravation the beating that Johnson administered. The past record of Johnson, which revealed 10 felony convictions, was also introduced. In mitigation, the defense offered the fact that he had not been convicted of any crime since his release from prison in 1979 and the fact that he was employed.

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People v. Johnson, 515 N.E.2d 137, 161 Ill. App. 3d 551, 113 Ill. Dec. 328, 1987 Ill. App. LEXIS 3283 (Ill. Ct. App. 1987).

515 N.E.2d 137 (People v. Johnson) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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