People v. R.F.

825 N.E.2d 287, 355 Ill. App. 3d 992, 292 Ill. Dec. 31, 2005 Ill. App. LEXIS 98
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedFebruary 10, 2005
Docket1-02-3347
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 825 N.E.2d 287 (People v. R.F.) 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. R.F., 825 N.E.2d 287, 355 Ill. App. 3d 992, 292 Ill. Dec. 31, 2005 Ill. App. LEXIS 98 (Ill. Ct. App. 2005).

Opinions

JUSTICE O’BRIEN

delivered the opinion of the court:

Defendant, R.E, appeals his convictions for criminal sexual assault and predatory criminal sexual assault of a child. Defendant contends that: (1) the admission of certain statements by the victim violated his sixth amendment right to confrontation; (2) the State failed to prove him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt; and (3) he was improperly convicted of multiple crimes based upon the same conduct. We affirm defendant’s conviction for predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, and with the State’s confession of error, we vacate defendant’s conviction for criminal sexual assault and correct the mittimus.

Prior to trial, the State filed a motion under section 115 — 10 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 (725 ILCS 5/115 — 10 (West 2000)) to admit the victim’s, A.F.’s, statements through her mother M.J. and Investigator Arnold Weddington. Section 115 — 10 provides that in a prosecution for a sexual act perpetrated against a child under the age of 13, the testimony of the child’s out-of-court statements describing any complaint of such act or matter or detail pertaining to any act which is an element of the charged offense is admissible as an exception to the hearsay rule. 725 ILCS 5/115 — 10(a) (West 2000). Such testimony may only be admitted if the court finds in a pretrial hearing that the time, content and circumstances of the statement provide sufficient safeguards of reliability and the child either testifies at trial or is unavailable as a witness and there is corroborative evidence of the act that is the subject of the statement. 725 ILCS 5/115 — 10(b) (West 2000).

During the section 115 — 10 hearing, M.J. testified that she is married to R.F. and that they have a daughter, A.F. At approximately 9:30 p.m. on April 7, 2000, M.J. was giving A.F. a bath in the kitchen sink. A.F. was three years old at the time. After bathing her, M.J. took A.F. out of the sink and began to dry her off. As M.J. dried A.F.’s vaginal area, A.F. began “flinching” and making noises like there was something wrong with her. M.J. asked her what was wrong, and A.F. shrugged her shoulders. A.F. “flinched” a second time, and M.J. again asked her what was wrong. A.F. again made no reply. M.J. asked A.F. a third time what was wrong, and A.F. stated that her daddy had pinched her. M.J. asked A.F. where her daddy had pinched her, and A.F. pointed to her vaginal area.

M.J. testified that she was “shocked” at A.F.’s statement and that she then began dressing A.F. A.F. looked up at M.J. and stated, “mommy, daddy pinched me. Could you please tell daddy to stop pinching me. He’s not supposed to touch me. He[’s] only supposed to touch you.” M.J. then finished dressing A.F. and took her upstairs to M.J.’s mother (A.F.’s grandmother), who lived in the same building. M.J. told A.F. to tell her grandmother what she had said in the kitchen. A.F. stated that “daddy touched my coochy” and she pointed to her vaginal area.

M.J. testified that the next day, April 8, she called the police and took A.F. to the hospital. While alone together in the hospital examination room at approximately 9 p.m., M.J. asked A.F. to tell her again what her dad (defendant) had done to her. A.F. stated that her dad had kissed her. M.J. asked her where he had kissed her, and A.E pointed to her vaginal area. M.J. testified that on April 9, Officer Weddington came to her home and talked with A.F. A.F. told Officer Weddington that her daddy had put his tongue on her coochy.

Officer Weddington testified that on April 8 he received an assignment involving a child who allegedly had been sexually abused. Officer Weddington went to the hospital and spoke with the doctor and with M.J. Since it was late in the evening, Officer Weddington told M.J. that he would interview A.F. the next day.

Officer Weddington testified that on April 9, he and his partner, Officer Redd, went to M.J.’s house. Officers Weddington and Redd, M.J., and A.F. went into the living room. Officer Weddington introduced himself to A.F. and asked her to tell him her name. A.F. appeared nervous and apprehensive and she hesitated for a few minutes before stating her name. Officer Weddington asked her about colors and numbers, whether she knew the difference between the truth and a story, and whether she could identify parts of her body. A.F. gave appropriate answers to Officer Weddington’s preliminary questions.

Officer Weddington testified that he told A.F. that he was there to help her, and he asked her to tell him what she had told her mommy. A.F. responded that her daddy had licked her private part. Officer Weddington asked her to point to her private part, and A.F. then touched her vaginal area. Officer Weddington asked her when this had happened, and A.F. stated “Saturday.”

Following the hearing, the trial court ruled that A.F.’s statements to M.J., her grandmother, and Officer Weddington would be admissible at trial.

At the bench trial, the parties stipulated to the testimony of M.J. and Office Weddington from the section 115 — 10 hearing. In chambers, the State and defense questioned A.F. for the purposes of determining whether she was available to testify. A.F. responded to some questions and not to others. The trial court found that A.F. was unavailable to testify due to her fear and anxiety.

Officer Weddington testified at trial that he spoke with defendant at the police station on April 10. After defendant was advised of his Miranda rights, he denied A.F.’s allegations. On April 11, Officer Weddington met with defendant and again advised him of his Miranda rights. Defendant told Officer Weddington that he went out with friends to drink after work one night. After arriving home, A.F. came to him and stated that she was itching. Defendant asked her where she was itching, and A.F. pointed to her vagina. Defendant told A.F. to go in the other room and he would be with her in a minute. Approximately five minutes later he went into the room, and A.F. again stated that her vagina was itching. Defendant stated that he kissed A.E’s vagina to make it better, then he licked A.F.’s vagina. Defendant realized what he was doing was wrong, went back into his bedroom, and prayed for forgiveness.

Officer Weddington testified that between 10 and 11 p.m., Assistant State’s Attorney (ASA) Daniel Tiernan met with defendant and that defendant repeated his inculpatory statement.

ASA Tiernan testified that he met with defendant at approximately 10 p.m. on April 11. ASA Tiernan gave defendant his Miranda rights, and defendant made a handwritten statement in which he admitted that approximately two weeks earlier, he had some beers after work and then returned home. A.F. told defendant that her belly hurt, and defendant told her to go back to her room and lie down. A few minutes later, defendant went into A.F.’s room and rubbed her belly and told her to go to sleep. Defendant went back to his bedroom. Approximately five minutes later, A.F. came in and told defendant that she was itching and pointed to her vagina. Defendant told A.F. to go to her room and lie down. A.F. called to him again, so defendant went into her room and A.F. told him that she was itching. Defendant told A.F.

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People v. R.F.
825 N.E.2d 287 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2005)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
825 N.E.2d 287, 355 Ill. App. 3d 992, 292 Ill. Dec. 31, 2005 Ill. App. LEXIS 98, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-rf-illappct-2005.