People v. Jackson

Decision Date29 June 2012
Docket NumberNo. 1–09–2833.,1–09–2833.
Citation363 Ill.Dec. 58,974 N.E.2d 855,2012 IL App (1st) 092833
PartiesThe PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff–Appellee, v. Jonathan JACKSON, Defendant–Appellant.
CourtUnited States Appellate Court of Illinois

OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE

Michael J. Pelletier, Alan D. Goldberg, and Nicole Marie Jones, State Appellate Defender's Office, Chicago, for appellant.

Anita M. Alvarez, State's Attorney, Chicago (Alan J. Spellberg and Yvette Loizon, Assistant State's Attorneys, of counsel), for the People.

OPINION

Justice CUNNINGHAM delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion.

[363 Ill.Dec. 62]¶ 1 This appeal arises from a September 21, 2009 judgment entered by the circuit court of Cook County which found the defendant-appellant, Jonathan Jackson (Jackson), guilty of two counts of predatory criminal sexual assault. Jackson was sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment to be served consecutively for each offense. On appeal, Jackson argues that: (1) his conviction for predatory criminal sexual assault on the finger-to-anus count should be reversed because plaintiff-appellee, the People of the State of Illinois (the State), failed to establish the corpus delicti of digital penetration of the anus; (2) the State deprived Jackson of a fair trial due to prosecutorial misconduct in the State's closing argument; and (3) this court should correct Jackson's mittimus to reflect three years' mandatory supervised release as imposed by the trial court where the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) modified the term to “3 years to life-to be determined.” For the following reasons, we affirm the judgment of the circuit court of Cook County. We order Jackson's mittimus to be corrected.

¶ 2 BACKGROUND

¶ 3 Between June 1, 2005 and July 31, 2007, Jackson lived at 10548 S. Maryland Ave., Chicago, Illinois, with his girlfriend Simona Patterson (Simona), Simona's nephews Kentrail Patterson (Kentrail) and Jarrell Patterson (Jarrell), and the victim, Simona's niece, J.P. During this time, Jackson often cared for the children while Simona was at work. Jackson's abuse of J.P. allegedly occurred during 2006 and 2007. At that time, J.P. was eight years old and Jarrell was 11 years old.

¶ 4 Jackson was charged with 10 counts of predatory criminal sexual assault, 16 counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault, and 19 counts of criminal sexual assault for crimes committed against J.P. The State proceeded to trial on five counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, alleging: penis-to-anus contact; mouth-to-anus contact; mouth-to-vagina contact; finger-to-vagina contact; and finger-to-anus contact. Prior to jury deliberations, the State nolle prossed the counts for penis-to-anus contact and mouth-to-vagina contact.

¶ 5 On September 22, 2008, the trial court conducted a hearing pursuant to section 115–10 of the Illinois Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 (725 ILCS 5/115–10 (West 2008)). At the hearing, Jarrell testified that J.P. approached him in April 2006 and told him about Jackson's abuse. Jarrell remembered that it was April 2006 because the family had just returned from a vacation in Champaign, Illinois. J.P. climbed into Jarrell's bunk bed and woke him up to tell him that Jackson had done something to her. Jarrell testified that J.P. told him that Jackson would stand in the bathroom with her as she bathed, and would “check” her to make sure she was clean. J.P. told Jarrell that after Jackson “checked” her, he blindfolded her and pulled out his penis. Jarrell testified that during the conversation he was still half asleep and he told J.P. that he would talk to Simona about it in the morning. The next morning, Jarrell told Simona about his conversation with J.P. Jarrell testified that he also asked J.P. to tell him what happened to her again in the morning because he was having trouble remembering what she said. J.P. refused because she did not want to talk about it again. In June 2007, Jarrell began to notice that J.P. was sad and was not acting normal. He asked her repeatedly what was wrong but she refused to tell him. Finally, after the fourth time Jarrell approached her, she began to speak about Jackson's abuse. Jarrell testified that every Friday, Jarrell, his siblings, Simona and Jackson would have “family night” where they would play games. Jarrell testified that J.P. told him that one time after family night, she was lying on the couch while wearing a dress and Jackson put his hand under her dress and began feeling her butt. J.P. also told Jarrell that Jackson started “kissing on her” and put his finger inside her “private part.”

¶ 6 Alexandra Levi (Alexandra), forensic interview manager for the Chicago Children's Advocacy Center (Child Advocacy Center), testified that she interviewed J.P. on July 6, 2007. After some preliminary questions, Alexandra asked J.P. what happened to her and if she knew why she was there. J.P. started to become hesitant in answering the questions and said that she told the police that something happened to her body. Alexandra testified that J.P. pointed to her butt and said that Jackson had done something to her. J.P. then became very emotional and Alexandra ended the interview.

¶ 7 Assistant State's Attorney Suzanne Sanders (ASA Sanders) testified that she interviewed J.P. at the Child Advocacy Center on July 25, 2007. J.P. told ASA Sanders that Jackson touched her when she was eight or nine years old. J.P. said that Jackson would come into the bathroom while she was bathing and tell her to hurry up and finish. After J.P. was done bathing, Jackson would take her into Simona's bedroom. ASA Sanders testified that J.P. told her that once she was in Simona's bedroom, Jackson would lay her on the bed, put a towel over her face and eyes, and lick her butt “where the poop came out.” J.P. also said that Jackson put his finger inside her butt. J.P. told ASA Sanders that Jackson touched her this way many times, and on another occasion Jackson put “his stuff” in her butt. When ASA Sanders asked J.P. what she meant by using the term “stuff,” J.P. pointed to her pelvic area and responded “it's here where my girl part is but it's on the boy.” J.P. was able to recall that one of the incidents with Jackson occurred right before a family vacation to Champaign, Illinois. ASA Sanders testified that J.P. also told her about an incident with Jackson one night while she was watching a movie. J.P. pointed between her legs and said that Jackson licked her “girl part.” J.P. said that Jackson did not touch her in any other way during that specific incident.

¶ 8 The court found that the time, content, and circumstances of the statements and testimonies given by Jarrell and Alexandra during the hearing provided sufficient safeguards of reliability. However, the court found that the statements and testimony given by ASA Sanders did not provide sufficient safeguards of reliability. Therefore, the court admitted the statements from Jarrell and Alexandra, but found that the statement from ASA Sanders was not admissible.

¶ 9 On August 4, 2009, a jury trial for this matter commenced in the circuit court of Cook County. Dr. Jill Glick (Dr. Glick), pediatrician and medical director of the child protection team at the University of Chicago, testified as an expert in the areas of pediatric medicine and child sexual abuse. On July 4, 2007, Dr. Glick conducted an examination of J.P. Dr. Glick testified that J.P. looked dysmorphic, meaning that she had abnormal-looking facial features. J.P.'s eyes were wide set, her head was abnormally shaped, she was very thin, and she was communicating at a six-year-old level despite being nine years old at the time of the examination. Because of these factors, Dr. Glick was concerned that J.P. was developmentally delayed.

¶ 10 Dr. Glick also performed a gynecological exam of J.P. and found that there was an absence of hymenal tissue. Dr. Glick testified that she reviewed J.P.'s medical history and stated that J.P. still should have had a hymen at that age. The lack of hymenal tissue indicated to Dr. Glick that J.P. had experienced trauma or sexual abuse. During the gynecological exam, J.P. was extremely cooperative and comfortable, and was able to color in her coloring book. Dr. Glick stated that this behavior was extremely concerning from a behavioral neuro developmental standpoint because J.P. did not exhibit any resistance to the examination. Dr. Glick testified that in her expert opinion, J.P.'s vagina had been penetrated by an object. She stated that the object could have been a penis or finger, among other things.

¶ 11 Dr. Glick also found that J.P. had an anal fissure, which was described as an abrasion or scratch. Dr. Glick stated that the anal fissure was “nonspecific,” meaning that it was not necessarily caused by abuse. She was unable to determine the date the fissure developed and stated that it could be caused by numerous common activities, including defecation. Dr. Glick testified that based on her entire examination, she could conclude with a reasonable degree of medical certainty that J.P. was sexually abused.

¶ 12 Assistant State's Attorney Martha Kross (ASA Kross) testified that on August 3, 2007, she interviewed Jackson at the Area 2 police station at 727 East 111th Street, Chicago, Illinois. ASA Kross received a page just before midnight, and once she arrived at the police station, she learned that Jackson was in custody for predatory criminal sexual assault. ASA Kross read Jackson his Miranda rights and Jackson agreed to talk to her. Jackson told ASA Kross that he had been living with J.P. for three years, and in 2006 he began to stand in the door of the bathroom when she would take a shower. He told ASA Kross that he would then take J.P. into the bedroom, swipe her vagina and buttocks with his fingers, and then smell his fingers to see if she was clean. ASA Kross testified that initially Jackson told her that he did this to J.P. only once. However,...

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