Woman wants out of plea, testimony agreement, lawyer says

A Wauconda woman who pleaded guilty to child molesting and agreed to testify against her husband now wants out of the deal, her husband's lawyer said Wednesday.

Tiffany Horak, 26, was sentenced to 14 years in prison in July after pleading guilty to predatory sexual assault of a child for molesting an 8-year-old boy.

As part of her agreement with prosecutors, Horak would testify at a trial set to begin Sept. 8 that her husband, Carl Horak, 25, had sex with the same child.

But Carl Horak's attorney, Robert Ritacca of Waukegan, told Circuit Judge Fred Foreman his client's wife has changed her mind.

Ritacca said he had received a letter from Tiffany Horak saying "she is not happy with the deal she got" and no longer intends to testify against her husband.

Foreman said he had also received a letter from Tiffany Horak, but was not going to read it until he discussed the matter with the attorneys.

Police say the Horaks molested the boy repeatedly between fall 2007 and January of this year.

They were arrested after the victim told a family member of the abuse, and that person went to police.

Both were charged with multiple counts of predatory sexual assault of a child and faced up to 30 years in prison if convicted of any count.

Tiffany Horak pleaded guilty to a single count of that crime, but Ritacca said she now wants to withdraw that plea and go to trial.

Assistant Public Defender Karen Levi, who represented Tiffany Horak, said Wednesday she had not heard from her client and was unaware she had corresponded with anyone else.

Foreman said he would put the matter over until Friday, so he can bring all the attorneys together to discuss the next move.

All parties agreed the development is almost certain to delay the start of Carl Horak's trial.