People v. Riggs

Decision Date19 June 2019
Docket NumberNo. 2-16-0991,2-16-0991
Citation129 N.E.3d 1266,2019 IL App (2d) 160991,432 Ill.Dec. 723
Parties The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Jeremiah RIGGS, Defendant-Appellant.
CourtUnited States Appellate Court of Illinois

James E. Chadd, Thomas A. Lilien, and Darren E. Miller, of State Appellate Defender’s Office, of Elgin, for appellant.

Richard D. Amato, State’s Attorney, of Sycamore (Patrick Delfino, David J. Robinson, and Barry W. Jacobs, of State’s Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor’s Office, of counsel), for the People.

JUSTICE BURKE delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion.

¶ 1 Following a jury trial, defendant, Jeremiah Riggs, was convicted of nine counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child ( 720 ILCS 5/11-1.40(a)(1) (West 2012)). He appeals, contending that he was deprived of his constitutional right to confront witnesses when, although the court admitted the victim's out-of-court statements describing all of the conduct with which defendant was charged, she testified at trial about only three incidents. Defendant contends that he was thus unable to effectively cross-examine her about the remaining incidents. We affirm.

¶ 2 Defendant was charged with 15 counts of predatory criminal sexual assault involving I.H. The State moved to introduce I.H.'s hearsay statements pursuant to section 115-10 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 (Code) ( 725 ILCS 5/115-10 (West 2012) ). At a hearing, Tracy Paszotta testified that she was I.H.'s kindergarten teacher in 2013. One day, a parent called Paszotta and said that I.H. had told the caller's daughter that I.H.'s father had inappropriately touched her. Paszotta took I.H. out of her music class and asked if anything was bothering her. After some prompting, I.H. said that her father, whom she called "Uncle Miah," had taken her and another child into the bathroom, where he made I.H. watch a pornographic movie on his phone. He then pulled down her pants and touched her. Paszotta did not ask any further questions. She returned I.H. to class and called the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) hotline.

¶ 3 While Paszotta waited for DCFS to call her back, the school psychologist said that I.H. had more to tell her. I.H. then said that " he put his finger inside [her].’ " Paszotta called DCFS again and said that she needed to speak to someone right away because the students were about to be released from school. She was then connected with someone who took the report.

¶ 4 Monique Heilmeister testified that she interviewed I.H. at the Children's Advocacy Center. During the interview, I.H. said that she was lying on Aunt Angie's bed when defendant took her into the bathroom, pulled down his pants, locked the door, and "stuck his thing in [her] private part."

¶ 5 I.H. was initially unsure how old she was when this occurred but later said that it happened after her sixth birthday party in May. Defendant put his finger under her underwear, removed her clothes, and made her lie on the bed. He put his finger inside her and got on top of her and was "humping" her with his clothes off. I.H. said that when she fell asleep defendant hit and choked her. He made her suck his "private part." I.H. used a Coke bottle to show what he did. She said that this happened more than once that day. It happened only at Aunt Angie's house. When asked what defendant did to her "pee pee," she made a humping motion. When asked if anything went inside her "pee pee," she replied a finger. When asked if anything touched the skin around her "pee pee," she shook her head no. Defendant humped her neck and her back. When asked what part of her body defendant's penis touched, she pointed to the back of her neck. She also said that his penis touched her mouth and that he made her suck it. She did not remember what his penis looked like and did not see anything come out of it. However, she later said that his penis was big and long.

¶ 6 I.H. said that defendant put his penis inside her "butt" and inside her "pee pee" more than once. He made her suck his penis more than once. She thought that he said he would kill her if she told anyone what happened. He put makeup on her and almost stabbed her. Defendant had shown her sex videos before. He also made her suck his penis in the bathroom at her house in De Kalb more than 10 times on the same day. This last happened at the De Kalb house "a long time ago." Defendant last made her suck his penis more than two months earlier.

¶ 7 The court found that the time, content, and circumstances of the statements provided sufficient safeguards of reliability. See id. § 115-10(b)(1). The court thus ruled them admissible, provided that I.H. testified at trial.

¶ 8 At trial, I.H. testified that she lived with her mother and defendant. Defendant touched her with his penis where she went to the bathroom. She called this body part her "pee pee." Defendant's penis also touched her butt and her mouth.

¶ 9 On cross-examination, I.H. testified that she had met several times with various people in preparation for her testimony. She had been brought into the courtroom with no one else present and told what to expect during the trial. She did not recall her kindergarten teacher asking her if anything bad was happening to her. She did not remember seeing a doctor. She did remember telling her teacher that something bad had happened to her. Paszotta and Heilmeister testified as they had at the section 115-10 hearing.

¶ 10 Detective Mark Nachman testified that defendant voluntarily went to the De Kalb police station, where Nachman interviewed him. The pair took the elevator to an interview room on the second floor. Defendant was able to walk without assistance and had no apparent difficulty with his balance.

¶ 11 Defendant was agitated at first, claiming that everyone knew what was going on but him. Nachman said that he believed that inappropriate things had happened between defendant and I.H. Defendant angrily denied the allegations, calling them "disgusting" and "gross." Nachman said that it was possible that defendant had been abused himself. Defendant calmed down and began to cry.

¶ 12 After some further questioning, defendant described an incident in which he was watching pornography and masturbating in bed when I.H. entered. I.H. asked if she could touch defendant's penis, and he agreed. Defendant said that he touched her vagina and butt with his hands and put his penis inside her mouth. This interview was not recorded. However, defendant agreed to a second, recorded interview.

¶ 13 The recorded interrogation started with Nachman reflecting that defendant had earlier claimed that he blacked out what he had done to I.H., because he was abused as a child. They discussed various incidents at houses in Yorkville and De Kalb. Defendant recounted how one day he was in bed masturbating while watching pornography on his phone when I.H. entered the room and asked what he was doing. When he replied that he was watching a movie, she asked if she could watch, and defendant agreed. I.H. then said that she always wanted to "touch one," so defendant let her touch his penis. When the movie depicted a man and woman having oral sex, I.H. asked if men like that. Defendant replied that some men like it and asked if she wanted to try. I.H. just licked it.

¶ 14 When the movie depicted a couple having sex, I.H. said that she wanted to have sex. Defendant said, " ‘Okay,’ " so he pulled her underwear down and rubbed his penis between her buttocks. Later, he rubbed his penis on the outside of her vagina.

¶ 15 Nachman told defendant that he wanted to tell his boss that defendant was being completely honest about what happened in Yorkville but that he had to explain certain discrepancies between defendant's and I.H.'s versions. Defendant insisted that he did not enter any "hole" but that if it did happen he did not remember.

¶ 16 Nachman retrieved a garbage can because defendant was feeling sick, and defendant continued to deny insertion. Defendant later admitted that he "might have came really close" to insertion. Eventually, defendant admitted that his penis accidentally and briefly went inside I.H.'s anus and vagina during the incident.

¶ 17 Defendant said that things first started to happen between him and I.H. at the De Kalb house. Defendant was lying naked in bed when I.H. jumped on him to play. Defendant became erect and thought that it was not right. When I.H. noticed his erect penis and asked to play with it, defendant replied, " ‘Yeah, sure.’ " She touched and licked it. Defendant initially recalled only one such incident in De Kalb. He did acknowledge that he "jerked off—in front of her a few times" in De Kalb. When pressed, defendant eventually admitted that they had oral sex about three times in the De Kalb house. He clarified that he remembered only one time but, because Nachman said that it was more than once, it must have been two or three times.

¶ 18 At the end of the interrogation, Nachman went to get defendant water. When he returned to the interview room, defendant was unresponsive and was subsequently taken to the hospital. Surveillance video indicated that defendant took pills while Nachman was getting him water. Nachman recovered an empty pill bottle while defendant was unconscious.

¶ 19 De Kalb County Sheriff's Deputy Naomi Faivre testified that she encountered defendant on December 13, 2013, at Kishwaukee Hospital. Defendant told Faivre, " ‘I rubbed my dick on my daughter.’ "

¶ 20 An emergency room physician testified that when defendant arrived at the hospital he was lethargic and minimally responsive. He tested positive for benzodiazeprine (a generic term for Xanax

) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).

¶ 21 Defendant testified that he picked up his wife's Xanax

prescription on the day of the interview. Throughout the day, he ingested Xanax, smoked marijuana, and drank alcohol. He was heavily under the influence of Xanax by the time he arrived at the police...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT