People v. Jonathon C.B. (In re Jonathon C.B.)

• Decision Date: 28 November 2011
• Docket Number: No. 107750.,107750.
• Parties: In re JONATHON C.B., a Minor (The People of the State of Illinois, Appellee, v. Jonathon C.B., Appellant).
• Court: Illinois Supreme Court

2011 IL 107750

354 Ill.Dec. 484

958 N.E.2d 227

In re JONATHON C.B., a Minor (The People of the State of Illinois, Appellee,

v.Jonathon C.B., Appellant).

No. 107750.

Supreme Court of Illinois.

June 30, 2011.Dissenting Opinions on Denial of Rehearing Nov. 28, 2011.

OPINION

Justice THOMAS delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion, and wrote in support of denial of rehearing, joined by Justice KARMEIER.

[354 Ill.Dec. 487] ¶ 1 Jonathon C.B. (Jonathon) was adjudicated a delinquent minor following the circuit court of Champaign County's finding that Jonathon was guilty of criminal sexual assault (720 ILCS 5/12–13(a)(1) (West 2006)) and attempted robbery (720 ILCS 5/8–4(a), 18–1 (West 2006)). The trial court ordered Jonathon committed to the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice for an indeterminate term, to automatically terminate in 15 years or upon Jonathon attaining 21 years of age. On appeal, the appellate court affirmed the adjudication, with one justice dissenting. 386 Ill.App.3d 735, 325 Ill.Dec. 519, 898 N.E.2d 252.

¶ 2 This court granted Jonathon's petition for leave to appeal. Ill. S.Ct. R. 315 (eff.Feb.26, 2010). We now affirm the judgment of the appellate court.

¶ 3 BACKGROUND

¶ 4 On August 24, 2006, the State filed a supplemental petition for adjudication of wardship, alleging that Jonathon, who was 16 years old at the time, was a delinquent minor, and charging him with criminal sexual assault (720 ILCS 5/12–13(a)(1) (West 2006)) and attempted robbery (720 ILCS 5/8–4(a), 18–1 (West 2006)). The State alleged that Jonathon and another minor, G.W., sexually assaulted and attempted to rob C.H. Jonathon asserted that he and G.W. had paid C.H. for sex, then attempted to get their money back. Because Jonathon challenges the sufficiency of the evidence against him, we will review the facts of the case in detail.

¶ 5 At Jonathon's bench trial, C.H. testified that on July 10, 2006, she left her home on Comanche in Champaign, Illinois, around 11 or 11:30 p.m. to go to her friend Donnie Stewart's home to make a phone call. As she was walking, she was approached by two boys, a tall boy and a short boy. C.H. later identified Jonathon as the tall boy. The short boy said to her, “I have three for one.” C.H. responded, “You should be at home in bed.” Jonathon told C.H., “That is my brother. You don't talk to him like that.” C.H. said, “Well, he approached me,” then continued walking to Stewart's house. C.H. stayed at Stewart's house for around 10 minutes, but did not recall what time she left. C.H. took a different route home, along Campbell Street, because the boys that had approached her on her way to Stewart's house made her uncomfortable.

¶ 6 As C.H. was walking home, she heard footsteps behind her. She turned around and saw two boys behind her. One was Jonathon, and the other was a little shorter, but was not the same short boy from earlier. C.H. continued walking, and one of the boys said, “Hey, you.” Jonathon went over to the garage of a duplex on Campbell, and asked C.H. if she wanted to have a drink. He also asked C.H. if she wanted to come near the garage. Jonathon went to the garage door and punched a button, raising the garage door. C.H. said, “I'm not going in there.” Jonathon lowered the garage door and said that they could talk and drink at the back of the house. The shorter boy, later identified as G.W., then grabbed C.H.'s arm and pulled her behind the house.

¶ 7 G.W. put his hands on C.H.'s shoulders and pulled her to her knees. G.W. was facing C.H. G.W. unzipped his pants and “crammed” his penis in her mouth, telling her she better not bite it. Jonathon was behind her. C.H. felt Jonathon put his penis in her vagina. C.H. testified that she fought as much as she could, said “no,” and tried to pull away. During the assault, C.H.'s blouse was torn. C.H. testified that there were people across the street, but no one helped.

¶ 8 C.H. testified that she was carrying a knife at the time of the assault, and that she had carried a knife ever since she was raped, beaten, and left for dead nine years earlier. C.H. said that the knife was in her hand. C.H. said that the knife was not open when G.W. grabbed her.

¶ 9 The assault was interrupted when a boy walking by said, “What are you all doing?” The boy scared G.W., who was holding C.H., so he let her loose. Jonathon also turned around, so C.H. knew it was her chance to get away. She ran south on Campbell. Her bra and shirt were torn, and she was trying to pull her pants up. C.H. screamed and asked people for help, but no one helped her. When she came to an intersection, C.H. saw her friend Keisha drive by in an orange- or gold-colored “truck like” car. C.H. ran up to the car and asked to be let in. Jonathon came up behind C.H. and told Keisha not to let C.H. in the car. Jonathon told Keisha that the police were down the street. Keisha did not let C.H. in the vehicle.

¶ 10 C.H. tried to run away again. When C.H. got to a tree in the back of her house, Jonathon hit her in the back of the head and knocked her down. C.H. then showed the knife she was carrying. Jonathon told C.H. to “drop the knife,” and held C.H.'s arm down with his foot. The shorter boy then began “stomping” her in the head. At that point, C.H. saw a light and heard a man's voice say, “Let her go.” The boys then ran off. C.H. testified that the man was a police officer. An ambulance was on the scene because someone had called 911. The officer wrapped something around C.H. to cover her up. C.H. was screaming and yelling for the officers to get her fiancé, and kept telling them, “Don't touch me.”

¶ 11 A female paramedic came out of the ambulance and put C.H. in the ambulance. The paramedic wrapped C.H.'s arm because it was bleeding. C.H. also kept saying that her stomach was hurting. C.H. refused to go to the hospital at that point because she “didn't want to go through everything that they told me I had to go through.” C.H. told the female paramedic that she had been sexually assaulted, but did not tell the police officers that night. C.H. returned to her apartment with her fiancé, who had arrived on the scene.

¶ 12 After C.H. had returned to her apartment, police officers came to the door and asked if C.H. could identify the boys who had attacked and tried to rob her. The officers drove C.H. and her fiancé to 2701 Campbell, the duplex where the boys had grabbed her and assaulted her. C.H. identified the boys for the police.

¶ 13 At 8 a.m. the next day, detectives came to C.H.'s home. C.H. gave the detectives a bag containing the clothes she had been wearing during the attack. C.H. testified that she had prepared the bag based on her prior experience. The detectives insisted that C.H. go to the hospital to be examined, so they drove C.H. and her fiancé there.

¶ 14 Sarah Ramey testified that on July 11, 2006, she was employed by Arrow Carle Ambulance in Champaign. In the early morning hours, around 1:10 a.m., she was dispatched to the area of Campbell and Aztec. The fire department was already on the scene. C.H. was sitting on the side of the road, and the fire department had oxygen on her. Ramey said that C.H. was obviously hysterical. C.H. was screaming, “Don't touch me.” C.H. did not want anyone around her. Ramey testified that C.H. was definitely more intimidated by the men on the scene.

¶ 15 At first, C.H. was saying that she just wanted to go home. Ramey asked C.H. to at least step into the ambulance with her so that Ramey could check her out. As Ramey and C.H. were walking to the ambulance, C.H. turned to Ramey and whispered, “I was raped.” It was still hard to calm C.H. down in the ambulance. Ramey pleaded with C.H. to go to the hospital, but C.H. was adamant about wanting to go home. Ramey observed abrasions to both of C.H.'s elbows, as well as a shoe print on C.H.'s left arm and upper arm. C.H. also complained of tenderness in her abdomen, and screamed in pain when Ramey pushed on it.

¶ 16 Destiny Nesbitt testified that Jonathon is her cousin. In July 2006, Destiny lived in apartment A of a duplex at 2701 Campbell Drive. Jonathon was staying with her. Around 10:45 p.m. on July 10, Jonathon asked Destiny for $40. Jonathon said there were girls out in the neighborhood and he wanted some money so he could go outside. Destiny gave Jonathon the $40. Destiny then went to sleep around 11 p.m. Sometime later, a little after 1 a.m., Destiny's boyfriend had a telephone conversation with Jonathon. Destiny heard Jonathon tell her boyfriend that he no longer had the $40 because he had “hit a hype.” Destiny then went outside to talk to Jonathon, who she believed was at apartment B of the duplex. The police were outside her door.

¶ 17 Destiny testified that she rented the garage of the duplex. Destiny said that the garage does not have an electric button that makes the door raise and lower. Destiny used a key to get in the garage. The garage stays locked, and to enter it, Destiny would unlock the garage, turn the garage handle, and pull the door up. Jonathon did not have a key to the garage.

¶ 18 Deputy Andrew Good testified that he is employed by the Champaign County sheriff's office as a deputy sheriff. On July 10–11, 2006, Good was working the 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. shift as a patrol officer with his field training officer, Deputy Bragg. Around 1:15 a.m. on July 11, Good was on foot patrol responding to a call in the area of Comanche and Campbell. While responding to that call, Good heard screaming from what appeared to be multiple males and a female north on Campbell. As Good walked closer, he saw two males standing over a female screaming and striking her with their fists or hands. The males were saying something to the effect of, “Give me the money. Where is the bread? Give me the money.” The female kept repeating, “Quit hitting me. I don't have any money.” The female stood up and started running in the direction of Good and Bragg. The two males began chasing her....