People v. Tittlebach

754 N.E.2d 484, 324 Ill. App. 3d 6, 257 Ill. Dec. 826, 2001 Ill. App. LEXIS 664
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedAugust 17, 2001
Docket2 — 99—1266
StatusPublished
Cited by54 cases

This text of 754 N.E.2d 484 (People v. Tittlebach) 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. Tittlebach, 754 N.E.2d 484, 324 Ill. App. 3d 6, 257 Ill. Dec. 826, 2001 Ill. App. LEXIS 664 (Ill. Ct. App. 2001).

Opinion

JUSTICE BYRNE

delivered the opinion of the court:

Following a bench trial, respondent, John Tittlebach, was adjudicated to be a sexually violent person pursuant to the Sexually Violent Persons Commitment Act (the Commitment Act) (725 ILCS 207/1 et seq. (West 1998)). On appeal, respondent argues that (1) the State failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he was a sexually violent person; (2) the trial court failed to provide a statutorily required hearing prior to ordering respondent committed to a secure facility; and (3) his commitment was unconstitutional because the trial court did not specifically find that he lacked volitional control over his violent criminal behavior. We affirm.

FACTS

The present action began when the State filed a petition requesting that respondent be evaluated and adjudicated a sexually violent person and committed to the care and custody of the Department of Human Services (DHS). See 725 ILCS 207/15 (West 1998). The petition alleged that, in 1997, respondent had been convicted of criminal sexual assault and sentenced to four years’ imprisonment and, in 1980, respondent had pleaded guilty to two counts of indecent liberties with a minor and had received four years’ probation. Respondent was scheduled for mandatory supervised release on May 13, 1999, for the 1997 offense. The petition alleged that respondent had been diagnosed as suffering from pedophilia, a “sexually attracted to females, nonexclusive type,” and “alcohol abuse in a controlled environment” and that these mental disorders created a substantial probability that he will engage in acts of sexual violence.

On June 8, 1999, following a hearing, the trial court determined there was probable cause to conduct further proceedings on the State’s petition. The trial court also ordered that respondent be transferred to the DHS for an evaluation as to whether he was a sexually violent person. See 725 ILCS 207/30(c) (West 1998).

At the commitment trial, S.W testified about the facts that led to respondent’s 1997 conviction. Respondent sexually assaulted S.W. over a nine-year period when he lived with SW and her mother. The abuse, which included oral and digital penetration, began when S.W. was seven years old.

The State also called Dr. Agnes Jonas and Dr. Barry Leavitt. Dr. Jonas interviewed respondent prior to and following the probable cause hearing and diagnosed respondent as a pedophile, sexually attracted to females, nonexclusive type. Dr. Jonas also diagnosed respondent as afflicted with alcohol abuse. Dr. Jonas testified to the factual basis of her diagnosis and identified several factors suggesting that respondent would commit future acts of sexual violence. In her opinion, there was a substantial probability that respondent would commit a sexually violent offense in the future.

Dr. Leavitt interviewed respondent following the probable cause hearing. He diagnosed respondent as a nonexclusive, “female type” pedophile, suffering from “alcohol abuse in a controlled environment,” and having a personality disorder not otherwise specified with narcissistic and antisocial personality features. Dr. Leavitt used several recognized tests to predict respondent’s likelihood of reoffending. Based on his interviews with respondent, respondent’s history of sexual violence, and the results of the psychological testing, Dr. Leavitt opined that respondent’s emotional or volitional capacity predisposed him to commit acts of sexual violence. Dr. Leavitt concluded that a substantial probability existed that respondent would commit another sexually violent crime in the future.

Respondent’s expert, Dr. Larry Davis, interviewed respondent for two hours and reviewed Dr. Leavitt’s and Dr. Jonas’s reports. Davis agreed that respondent was a pedophile but concluded that, to a reasonable degree of medical certainty, there was not a substantial probability that respondent would reoffend. Dr. Davis based this opinion on the fact that respondent demonstrated a pattern of molestation that slowly developed only in the intimate environment of a family setting. Because respondent was now 52 years old, his sex drive was diminished, and he most likely would have a relationship with a woman his own age who would not have young girls in the home, Dr. Davis concluded that there was not a substantial probability of reoffending. Dr. Davis suggested that a parole term could include a condition that respondent not reside in a home with prepubescent girls.

During closing, the trial court asked the prosecutor to address Dr. Davis’s premise that living arrangements and age would render respondent less than substantially likely to reoffend. While admitting that a possible term for parole could include a condition that respondent not reside with prepubescent girls, the prosecutor argued that any parole term was limited and that women in their late forties can bear children or have custody of grandchildren.

The trial court adjudicated respondent to be a sexually violent person and ordered respondent committed to an institution in a secure facility for treatment. Respondent timely appeals.

ANALYSIS

I. Sufficiency of the Evidence

Respondent first contends on appeal that the State failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he was a sexually violent person. Respondent asserts that, because Dr. Jonas was not qualified to testify as an expert and Dr. Leavitt’s testimony was not credible, the State has failed to sustain its burden of proof.

Regarding Dr. Jonas’s allegedly inadequate qualifications, respondent admits that his counsel stipulated to Dr. Jonas’s qualifications. However, he argues that his counsel was ineffective by agreeing to the stipulation. Respondent bases this claim on the administrative rules implementing the Commitment Act that provide the standards for qualifying as an expert.

•1 To prevail on a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, the claimant must prove both that counsel’s conduct fell below an objective standard of reasonableness and that there is a reasonable probability that, but for counsel’s unprofessional conduct, the result of the proceedings would have been different. Strickland, v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687-94, 80 L. Ed. 2d 674, 693-98, 104 S. Ct. 2052, 2064-68 (1984); People v. Howery, 178 Ill. 2d 1, 51 (1997).

•2 Expert testimony is admissible at trial when the expert has knowledge or experience not common to a layperson and this knowledge or experience would aid the trier of fact in determining the facts at issue. People v. Miles, 217 Ill. App. 3d 393, 404 (1991). The admission of expert testimony is within the discretion of the trial court and will not be reversed on appeal absent an abuse of discretion. Miles, 217 Ill. App. 3d at 403.

•3 Section 299.220 of the Illinois Administrative Code requires that an evaluator must be a physician, psychiatrist, or clinical psychologist who has a minimum of two years’ experience providing sex offender evaluation and treatment. 59 Ill. Adm. Code § 299.220 (1998).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
754 N.E.2d 484, 324 Ill. App. 3d 6, 257 Ill. Dec. 826, 2001 Ill. App. LEXIS 664, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-tittlebach-illappct-2001.