People v. Brown
| Decision Date | 24 March 1969 |
| Docket Number | Gen. No. 11012 |
| Citation | 246 N.E.2d 61,107 Ill.App.2d 406 |
| Parties | PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Charles R. BROWN, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | United States Appellate Court of Illinois |
Glenn O. Fuller, Asst. Public Defender, Decatur, for defendant-appellant.
Basil G. Greanias, State's Atty., Milo J. See, Jr., Decatur, for plaintiff-appellee.
Found guilty by a jury on one count charging aggravated incest and a second count charging indecent liberties with a child, the defendant was sentenced on the second count to a term of 12 to 20 years in the penitentiary. In this court, he seeks only a reduction of the sentence. The sentencing judge was the trial judge and evidence in aggravation and mitigation was waived by both sides. The trial evidence is the only evidence from which the trial court could determine a proper sentence.
The evidence consisted of the testimony of the mother, a thirteen-year-old daughter, who was the victim, and the defendant. The defendant denied everything, but did admit that he had inserted his finger into his daughter's vagina on one occasion to determine whether or not she was a virgin. The jury believed the testimony of the mother and daughter that upon at least two occasions the defendant had sexual intercourse with the daughter and on some fifteen to thirty occasions had fondled her breasts and privates. He admitted that he frequently was unclothed in the presence of the other four children whose ages range from a six-year-old daughter to the thirteen-year-old victim. He denied that he was the father of any of the children, but stated that he knew whose they were. This record discloses either a shocking disregard for the truth or a densely polluted moral atmosphere in the home.
In this atmosphere, the defendant argues that the record fails to show any previous engagement in this kind of conduct prior to 1967 either in or out of his family or the prior conviction of any criminal offense and that the evidence of guilt is less than overwhelming. Thus he states that the sentence with a minimum of 12 and a maximum of 20 is excessive. Under Ill.Rev.Stat., ch. 110A, § 615 (Supreme Court Rule 615) (b)(4), a reviewing court has the power to reduce the punishment imposed by the trial court. Under Ill.Rev.Stat.1967, ch. 38, § 1--7(g), it is provided that for the purpose of determining sentence, the court shall consider the evidence, if any, received upon the trial and shall also hear and receive evidence, If any, as to the moral character, life, etc., and may consider such evidence in aggravation or mitigation of the offense. In People v. Nelson, 41 Ill.2d 364, 243 N.E.2d 225, it was held that the phrase 'if any' contemplates the possibility of a waiver of hearing in mitigation by the defendant and further states that the burden of presenting mitigating circumstances falls upon the defendant and it is...
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People v. Brown
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