Judge will allow confession for 3rd trial in girl's slaying

A Lake County judge said Thursday he will not allow lawyers to keep Juan Rivera's confession to a 1992 murder from being used against him in court.

Rivera, 35, is awaiting a third trial for the Aug. 17, 1992, murder of Holly Staker, an 11-year-old Waukegan baby sitter.

A confession Rivera gave police was used against him in trials in 1993 and 1998, and Rivera was convicted and sentenced to life in prison both times.

His new attorneys asked Circuit Judge Christopher Starck to allow them a separate hearing on whether the confession could be used a third time based on what they called new evidence in the case.

Chicago attorney Thomas Sullivan wanted three experts to testify about advances in interpretations of lie detector results and false confessions. He said advances in those fields since Rivera's confession was ruled legal in 1993 justified putting the confession to the test a second time.

But Lake County Assistant State's Attorney Michael Mermel said a new hearing was not warranted because the witnesses Sullivan wanted to call could not provide evidence, only theories.

Charles Hontz, a psychology professor at Boise State University in Idaho and polygraph expert, told Starck Thursday it was his belief Rivera was not being deceptive during a lie-detector test he took while being questioned by police.

Mermel pointed out Rivera had admitted he lied during the lie-detector test about being at a party, and Hontz could not explain how that was not reflected in his reading of the test results.

Saul Kassin of Massachusetts and Robert Glatley-Levy of Chicago, two other experts in false confessions, said Rivera was susceptible to police suggestions and manipulation because of his low intelligence and the high-stress conditions of police questioning.

But Starck said the testimony of the three experts was not enough to justify a separate suppression hearing for the confession.

The third trial is tentatively scheduled to begin Feb. 9.