People v. McMullen

414 N.E.2d 214, 91 Ill. App. 3d 184, 46 Ill. Dec. 492, 1980 Ill. App. LEXIS 4010
Appellate Court of Illinois·Decided December 3, 1980·No. 15910·Published·Cited by 23 cases

Opinions

Mr. PRESIDING JUSTICE MILLS

delivered the opinion of the court:

Rape.

Jury found him guilty.

Sentence of 8 years.

We affirm.

On November 20, 1978, the defendant and two other teenage boys had sexual intercourse with the 16-year-old prosecutrix in a small room in Urbana High School. The three boys pulled down her pants, and while defendant McMullen was having intercourse with her, one of the other boys held her hands at approximately the level of her head. She testified that she did not want the boys to have intercourse with her, that she was crying during the incident, and that she told them she wanted to go home. Afterwards, the victim walked several blocks to her home and did not report the incident to her parents or to school officials.

The prosecutrix lived with her father, stepmother, and two younger sisters. She had been enrolled in a special education program for the educable mentally handicapped since beginning school. The stepmother testified that the victim performed such duties at home as vacuuming, dusting, and washing dishes. She could not, however, cook or run a washing machine or use a stove. The stepmother also indicated that the prosecutrix was never allowed to travel by herself or to go to school events alone, had never ridden a bus by herself, and could not find her own way around town. She could not shop alone because she did not understand the value of money and was never allowed to babysit because she could not handle a crisis.

The stepmother further testified that the victim’s younger sisters (ages 11 and 6) were able to manipulate the victim and get her to do their jobs for them, following even the six-year-old’s orders without objection.

The stepmother had spoken with the prosecutrix as many as one or two dozen times in the past year and a half or two years concerning sexual matters. The girl understood the physical part of sexual intercourse and knew where babies come from, but she did not, according to the stepmother, understand the emotional consequences of sexual intercourse or the consequences of having a baby and the effect it has on the mother’s life. The stepmother had assisted the victim in obtaining birth control prior to November 20,1978, but had no knowledge of any sexual activity on her part prior to that date.

Dr. Eva Maurer, a psychologist in the Urbana school system since 1964, testified as an expert witness. In April 1979, she had tested the prosecutrix to determine whether she still qualified for the educable mentally handicapped program. Her IQ scores ranged from 45 to 54, whereas the average range is 90 to 109. That score represented the mental ability of a child beginning the second grade. Her score for social judgment and social reasoning was 2, while the mean score is 10. Dr. Maurer characterized the victim as shy, gentle, and passive, and testified that she was of the opinion that the victim would not comprehend the meaning, circumstances, responsibility, consequences, and nature of sexual activity. Dr. Maurer conceded, however, that the tests she administered do not measure sexual knowledge and awareness.

Section 11 — 1(a) of the Criminal Code of 1961 (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1979, ch. 38, par. 11 — 1(a)) provides in relevant part as follows:

“A male person of the age of 14 years and upwards who has sexual intercourse with a female, not his wife, by force and against her will, commits rape. Intercourse by force and against her will includes, but is not limited to, any intercourse which occurs in the following situations:
e e #
(2) Where the female is so mentally deranged or deficient that she cannot give effective consent to intercourse.”

I

One of the elements of the offense of rape is the nonmarriage of the defendant and the victim. (People v. Jones (1977), 53 Ill. App. 3d 197, 368 N.E.2d 452.) At trial, the prosecution did not ask any witness whether the victim and the defendant were married. However, indirect evidence of nonmarriage can satisfy the State’s burden of proof. (In re Williams (1974), 24 Ill. App. 3d 593, 321 N.E.2d 281.) In this case, unrebutted indirect evidence of nonmarriage consisted of the parties’ dissimilar names, their youthfulness, the prosecutrix’s attendance at school and residence with her parents, and her mental handicap. These factors are sufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the victim was not the defendant’s wife.

II

The jury was instructed that the defendant could be found guilty either because he had sexual intercourse with the complaining witness by force and without her consent, or because he had intercourse with her when she was so mentally deranged or deficient that she could not effectively consent to intercourse. The jury returned a general verdict of guilty, and we therefore have no indication upon which basis that verdict rests. However, when an indictment includes any good charge, a general finding of guilt under that indictment will be upheld. (People v. Collins (1979), 71 Ill. App. 3d 815, 390 N.E.2d 463.) Thus, if we find either that this act was committed with force, or that the complaining witness was incapable of giving effective consent, then the guilty verdict must stand.

There was ample evidence to prove beyond reasonable doubt that sexual intercourse was achieved by force: The complaining witness was lured into a room by a statement that a teacher wanted to see her, three boys pulled down her pants, one boy held her hands down at the level of her head during the defendant’s intercourse with her, the victim stated at trial that she did not want the defendant to have intercourse with her, she told the boys she wanted to go home, and she was crying during the incident.

The only evidence of force comes from the victim herself; however, such testimony is sufficient to support a finding of force, provided it is clear and convincing. (People v. Olejniczak (1979), 73 Ill. App. 3d 112, 390 N.E.2d 1339; People v. McKnight (1979), 72 Ill. App. 3d 136, 390 N.E.2d 379.) Her testimony is entirely believable, contains no significant contradictions, and meets the “clear and convincing” standard. Even though she did not testify to calling for help or making efforts to resist the three boys, the lack of such testimony is not necessarily an indication of the absence of force. The amount of force and resistance that is required for a finding of forcible rape will naturally vary with the circumstances of each case. (McKnight.) Thus, when the attacking party is so much stronger than the victim that resistance would be futile, the law does not require the victim to resist. (People v. Houck (1977), 50 Ill. App. 3d 274, 365 N.E.2d 576.) The prosecutrix here was almost certainly weaker than her three teenage male assailants.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

People v. McMullen, 414 N.E.2d 214, 91 Ill. App. 3d 184, 46 Ill. Dec. 492, 1980 Ill. App. LEXIS 4010 (Ill. Ct. App. 1980).

414 N.E.2d 214 (People v. McMullen) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

State of Maine v. Trevor I. Desrosiers
2024 ME 77 (Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, 2024)
State v. Mosbrucker
2008 ND 219 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 2008)
Adkins v. Commonwealth
457 S.E.2d 382 (Court of Appeals of Virginia, 1995)
People v. Whitten
647 N.E.2d 1062 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1995)
Jackson v. State
890 P.2d 587 (Court of Appeals of Alaska, 1995)
State v. Ortega-Martinez
881 P.2d 231 (Washington Supreme Court, 1994)
People v. Weiss
635 N.E.2d 635 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1994)
People v. Velasco
575 N.E.2d 954 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1991)
State v. Olivio
589 A.2d 597 (Supreme Court of New Jersey, 1991)
People v. Robinson
556 N.E.2d 1204 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1989)
People v. Washington
520 N.E.2d 1160 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1988)
State v. Gonsalves
706 P.2d 1333 (Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals, 1985)
People v. Thompson
466 N.E.2d 380 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1984)
Stafford v. State
455 N.E.2d 402 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1983)
People v. Gross
670 P.2d 799 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 1983)
People v. Williams
450 N.E.2d 851 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1983)
People v. Witte
449 N.E.2d 966 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1983)
People v. Farrokhi
414 N.E.2d 921 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1980)
People v. McMullen
414 N.E.2d 214 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1980)