People v. Jung Oh Kim

498 N.E.2d 831, 148 Ill. App. 3d 191, 101 Ill. Dec. 507, 1986 Ill. App. LEXIS 2900
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedSeptember 29, 1986
Docket85-1157
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 498 N.E.2d 831 (People v. Jung Oh Kim) 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. Jung Oh Kim, 498 N.E.2d 831, 148 Ill. App. 3d 191, 101 Ill. Dec. 507, 1986 Ill. App. LEXIS 2900 (Ill. Ct. App. 1986).

Opinion

JUSTICE O’CONNOR

delivered the opinion of the court:

Following a jury trial, Jung Oh Kim was convicted of rape, armed robbery, aggravated battery and unlawful restraint. He was sentenced to concurrent terms of 11 years for rape and armed robbery, 5 years for aggravated battery and 3 years for unlawful restraint.

Defendant appeals, contending: (1) he was denied a fair trial because of repeated instances of prosecutorial misconduct; (2) the sentences of 11 years for rape and armed robbery were excessive; and (3) his conviction for unlawful restraint should be vacated as it violates the one-act, one-crime rule.

We affirm in part and vacate in part.

At about 3:45 p.m. on November 15, 1983, police officers responded to a call from 7201 North Lincoln in Lincolnwood. When they arrived at the scene they found the victim and Yun Chon, the daughter of the victim’s employer. The victim had been tied up with telephone cord and raped, and $6,000 and various items of jewelry had been taken from the house.

The victim testified that she had come to the United States from Korea in 1982. She worked as a housekeeper for Mrs. Jeong Chon and was caring for Mrs. Chon’s daughters while her employer was in Japan. The victim further testified that she knew the defendant, Jung Oh Kim, as he had visited the apartment many times with Mrs. Chon’s son. On the day of the alleged rape, defendant gained entry to the apartment by telling the victim that he had brought over some money that he owed Mrs. Chon. She let him into the apartment and continued with her work. Defendant asked her where the rest of the family was and she told him that the children were at school and no one else was at home. She then noticed that he had removed his jacket and was wearing gloves.

The victim stated that the defendant then told her that he had a knife and that if she moved he would kill her. He proceeded to tie her wrists behind her back with a telephone cord, then removed her skirt and ripped off her underwear with a knife. He dragged her into one of the children’s bedrooms, pushed her down on the bed, covered her face with a blanket and raped her with her hands still tied behind her back. He then demanded that she get all the money in the house. After searching several rooms in the apartment, defendant found some jewelry and about $6,000 that had been hidden in a passport. After again threatening to kill her if she identified him, defendant left the victim tied up on the living-room floor.

Yun Chon testified that she was the daughter of the victim’s employer. She stated that on November 15, 1983, she arrived home from school around 3:30 p.m. and found the victim tied up. The victim told her that Jung Oh Kim “took everything.” Yun Chon untied the victim, checked the apartment and called the police. When the police arrived, Yun Chon interpreted for the victim, who did not speak English. The victim asked her not to tell the police that she had been raped. The police found out later that she had been raped and took her to the Skokie Valley Hospital. Yun Chon also testified that about $6,000 and some jewelry were missing.

Teresa Sinkowski testified that she was a registered nurse and treated the victim in the Skokie Valley Hospital on November 15, 1983. She treated the victim for abrasions and noticed black and blue marks around her neck. She also received specimens from the doctor which had been taken from the victim and labeled them for the Vitullo kit.

Mohammed A. Tahir testified that he worked for the Department of Law Enforcement as a forensic scientist in the area of serology. According to Tahir, only 11% of the population secrete blood type B, the blood type of defendant. He testified that the specimens taken from complainant could have originated from defendant.

Eric Berg-Olsen testified that he was employed by the Lincoln-wood police department. On November 15, 1983, he went to 7201 Lincoln Avenue in Lincolnwood and interviewed the victim with Yun Chon acting as interpreter. At the time, he was given defendant’s name and description.

Defendant presented an alibi defense. He testified that he had known complainant since July of 1983 and that he had had a previous sexual relationship with her. He stated that on November 15, 1983, he did not leave his home. He testified that although he knew police were looking for him, he did not go to the police station until November 18 because he was trying to locate an interpreter.

Defendant’s parents and his sister testified that he was at home watching Korean videos on television until 4 p.m. on the day that the rape and robbery occurred. His sister also testified that the police came to their house at 7 p.m. the following night looking for defendant. She told them he was not home when in fact he was home at the time the police were there.

At the conclusion of the trial, the jury found defendant guilty of rape, armed robbery, aggravated battery and unlawful restraint.

Defendant first contends that he was denied a fair trial because the prosecutor pursued certain prejudicial lines of questioning after they were ruled inadmissible by the trial court.

The first line of questioning concerned whether being raped would cause shame to a Korean woman and result in her husband divorcing her. The State questioned both the victim and defendant on the issue and made one reference in closing argument to “repercussions” in the victim’s life as a result of the rape. In every instance, defendant’s counsel objected and objections were sustained.

The main thrust of defendant’s argument is that this line of questioning and the reference to “repercussions” during closing argument constitute reversible error because it improperly arouses sympathy for the victim in the minds of the jury, citing People v. Speck (1968), 41 Ill. 2d 177, 202, 242 N.E.2d 208, death sentence reversed and cause remanded (1971), 403 U.S. 946, 29 L. Ed. 2d 855, 91 S. Ct. 2279. The State maintains that these questions were relevant both on the issue of why the victim did not initially report thé rape to police and to impeach defendant’s testimony that he had had a previous affair with the victim.

Defendant correctly states that it is error to present testimony solely to arouse the sympathies and passions of the jury where the testimony is unrelated to the guilt or innocence of the accused. (People v. Starks (1983), 116 Ill. App. 3d 384, 389, 451 N.E.2d 1298, appeal denied (1983), 96 Ill. 2d 548.) In order to constitute reversible error, however, the testimony and argument on which it is based must cause actual prejudice to the defendant. (People v. Starks (1983), 116 Ill. App. 3d 384, 390, 451 N.E.2d 1298, appeal denied (1983), 96 Ill. 2d 548.) Although questions regarding the marital status of the victim subsequent to the rape were unnecessarily repetitive and not relevant to the issue of defendant’s guilt or innocence, defense counsel promptly objected and the objections were sustained. We believe they were not sufficiently prejudicial to warrant reversal.

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Bluebook (online)
498 N.E.2d 831, 148 Ill. App. 3d 191, 101 Ill. Dec. 507, 1986 Ill. App. LEXIS 2900, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-jung-oh-kim-illappct-1986.