People v. Rouse
| Decision Date | 04 November 2020 |
| Docket Number | No. 1-17-0491,1-17-0491 |
| Citation | 2020 IL App (1st) 170491,446 Ill.Dec. 767,171 N.E.3d 584 |
| Court | United States Appellate Court of Illinois |
| Parties | The PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. William A. ROUSE II, Defendant-Appellant. |
James E. Chadd, Patricia Mysza, and Emily Hartman, of State Appellate Defender's Office, of Chicago, for appellant.
Kimberly M. Foxx, State's Attorney, of Chicago (Alan J. Spellberg and Miles J. Keleher, Assistant State's Attorneys, of counsel), for the People.
¶ 1 Defendant William A. Rouse II appeals the trial court's order granting the State's motion to dismiss his pro se postconviction petition for relief filed under the Post-Conviction Hearing Act (Act) ( 725 ILCS 5/122-1 et seq. (West 2014)). He contends that (1) he made a substantial showing that his trial counsel was ineffective for misadvising him on the minimum sentence for a lesser-included offense, causing him to reject a jury instruction on the lesser-included offense, and (2) he did not knowingly waive his right to postconviction counsel. For the following reasons, we affirm.
¶ 2 Following a 2011 jury trial, defendant was convicted of three counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault (ACSA) and sentenced to three consecutive terms of 6 years' imprisonment, for a total sentence of 18 years. We set forth the facts in defendant's direct appeal ( People v. Rouse , 2014 IL App (1st) 111302-U, 2014 WL 670707 ), and we recite them here to the extent necessary to our disposition.
¶ 3 Defendant was charged with three counts of ACSA for using force or threat of force to penetrate the victim, G.K., vaginally, anally, and orally and acting in such a manner as to threaten or endanger her life. He was represented by private counsel, James P. Casement and Gregory Reed. At trial, G.K. testified that she worked with defendant's wife, Kelly Rouse, and socialized at defendant's house in the past. On September 10, 2010, G.K. was at defendant's house after work and planned to spend the night. G.K. had a glass of wine before dinner and another with her meal. She acknowledged that she had been prescribed Adderall, Zoloft
, trazodone, and clonazepam and knew she was not supposed to drink while on her medication. Nevertheless, G.K. took her Adderall dosage at defendant's house. Defendant's friend Joseph Perez was also there for part of the time.
¶ 4 After Kelly went to bed and Perez left, defendant and G.K. watched television on the couch. Defendant grabbed G.K.'s hair, pushed her head down, and rubbed his penis on her face. Defendant's penis went into G.K.'s mouth multiple times, causing her to gag and choke. Although G.K. attempted to get away from defendant, he bent her over the couch with her face pushed into the cushions. G.K. stopped struggling after defendant threatened to "break [her] f*** neck." He pulled G.K.'s pants down and touched the tip of his penis to her vagina and anus. Defendant inserted his penis into her vagina after she covered her anus with her hands.
¶ 5 G.K. was able to escape after approximately 20 minutes and fled into the garage where she grabbed a pipe. She ran to a busy street and fell to the ground where a man, Anthony DiCaro, approached her. After she told DiCaro what happened, he called the police. G.K. acknowledged she was "freaked out" when paramedics arrived and had to be strapped down. She remained frightened because she believed she could hear defendant's voice. Upon presenting at the hospital, G.K. told a nurse about the attack by defendant. She did not remember telling any emergency personnel that she was "unsure" about whether defendant had penetrated her.
¶ 6 DiCaro corroborated G.K.'s version of events. He observed her on the sidewalk at approximately 5 a.m. on the corner of Devon Avenue and Arlington Heights Road when he was driving home from work. G.K.'s shirt was ripped, her pants were unzipped and unbuttoned, and she was not wearing socks or shoes or carrying a purse. G.K. was crying and holding a metal pipe. She told him that her friend's husband attacked her while they watched television and her friend was asleep. G.K. did not state she had been partying or drinking, and she did not appear to have been drinking or doing drugs. DiCaro did not notice any odor of alcohol. He told police what G.K. told him about the attack.
¶ 7 Dr. John Ortinau treated G.K. in the emergency room on September 11, 2010. She was visibly upset and reported that she had been sexually assaulted. G.K. relayed that a man forced his penis into her mouth and attempted to penetrate her vagina and anus. The man pushed her face into couch cushions, and her vagina and neck were sore. G.K. was certain that the man forced his penis into her mouth; however, she was unsure whether the man penetrated her vagina and anus due to how quickly the attack had taken place.
¶ 8 Dr. Ortinau observed bruising on G.K.'s upper arms and forearms and redness on her neck and knees. She did not have visible trauma to her vagina or anus, which was not uncommon in sexual assault cases where the victim was not a virgin and where no foreign objects were used for penetration. G.K. reported she was on various prescription drugs, but Dr. Ortinau did not order toxicology tests. He did not note that G.K. appeared intoxicated, which was normal practice if a patient appeared impaired. Dr. Ortinau did not notice anything unusual about G.K.'s pupils. Her pulse rate was elevated, which was not unusual in a patient who had been sexually assaulted. He acknowledged that an elevated heart rate would also be expected in a patient on methamphetamines.
¶ 9 Elk Grove Village police officer John Suarez testified that he responded to G.K.'s and DiCaro's location on September 11, 2010. G.K. was "crying, hyperventilating, and repeating that she was attacked." Her hair was messy, and her clothes were disheveled. Suarez then went to defendant's residence, where he met Kelly and defendant, who was sitting on a couch in the living room wearing jeans but no shoes, socks, or shirt. Defendant acknowledged that G.K. had been there and that they had been drinking alcohol, but he did not know that G.K. had left the house. Defendant was "perfectly willing to cooperate" with the police, but Suarez did not believe that defendant was being truthful.
¶ 10 Suarez completed a police report in this case but did not include his observations that G.K. was crying and hysterical or that her hair and clothing appeared to be in disarray. Suarez included in the report that G.K. admitted to drinking alcohol, her eyes were glassy, and she smelled of alcohol; however, he did not include defendant's admission that he had been drinking also.
¶ 11 Elk Grove police officer Brian Vivona testified that he photographed G.K. while she was in the hospital. Vivona then went to defendant's residence to take photographs of the crime scene. Kelly and defendant's mother-in-law were present at that time. Vivona denied manipulating anything before taking photographs.
¶ 12 Kelly Rouse testified for the defense that G.K. was intoxicated every time they socialized outside of work. They both snorted Adderall on several occasions, including the night in question, when they each snorted four capsules. They also were drinking wine that night.
¶ 13 Dr. Alan Jaffe, a licensed clinical psychologist who did not treat G.K., testified that a person who ingested 120 milligrams or more of Adderall would have an increased heart rate. Those who ingest Adderall while drinking alcohol would likely experience disorientation and have difficulty engaging in rational thinking and could experience auditory, visual, and olfactory hallucinations. He acknowledged he did not know whether G.K. was on Adderall at the time of the attack and conceded her medical records gave no indication that she was delusional or hallucinating when she presented at the hospital. He viewed photographs of G.K. and stated her pupils appeared to be dilated, which is expected in a person who has ingested methamphetamine.
¶ 14 Perez testified that on September 10, 2010, he observed Kelly and G.K. snorting Adderall and drinking what he estimated was an entire box of wine while he was present. He acknowledged that he was also snorting Adderall and drinking vodka but denied being intoxicated. Perez left defendant's residence around 1 a.m. on September 11, 2010, and received a call from G.K. at some point after. He believed G.K. was intoxicated because she was slurring her words and could not hold a coherent conversation.
¶ 15 Perez received a call to report to the Elk Grove Village police station at around 6 a.m. He told Detective George Winkler that he saw G.K. drink wine and believed she was intoxicated. He did not mention that Kelly and G.K. snorted Adderall because the Rouses had a baby and he did not want to cause an investigation by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.
¶ 16 Officer James Chmelik spoke to G.K. on September 11, 2010, at the intersection of Devon Avenue and Arlington Heights Road. G.K. was crying and barefoot, and her hair was disheveled. He noticed that she smelled of alcohol and appeared intoxicated. G.K. reported that she had consumed four to six drinks at Kelly's house and that defendant attacked her as they sat on a couch. She explained that defendant rubbed his arm and shoulder against her and then forced her head towards his groin and inserted his penis into her mouth. Defendant pushed her against the couch, pulled her pants down, and attempted to insert his penis into her anus. He was unable to do so and then inserted his penis into her vagina. G.K. did not mention using drugs that evening.
¶ 17 Registered nurse Lisa Romanski treated G.K. when she arrived in the emergency room. G.K. was alert and able to communicate but was tearful and spoke in a low voice. She did not seem to be delusional or experiencing hallucinations, but Romanski noted...
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