Ward of state guilty of sex assault in Schaumburg
After more than eight hours of deliberations over two days, a Cook County jury found 16-year-old Ronald Patterson guilty of the 2008 rape of a mental-health technician.
The six-man, six-woman jury convicted Patterson, a ward of the state, with three counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault. Because the sentences must run consecutively, he faces a minimum of 18 and a maximum of 60 years in prison, said defense attorney Larry Kugler.
"The people are very satisfied with the verdict," said prosecutor Mike Andre, adding that Patterson must complete at least 85 percent of his sentence before he is eligible for parole.
Cook County Circuit Judge Ellen Beth Mandletort set sentencing for Feb. 23 in Rolling Meadows' Third Municipal District.
Kugler, a Cook County assistant public defender, expressed disappointment with the guilty verdict.
"I know they (jurors) worked hard, but I'm surprised they didn't find reasonable doubt given the lack of DNA evidence," Kugler said.
In his arguments to the jury, Kugler also questioned whether evidence photos backed up the woman's testimony. The woman testified that Patterson, who weighed between 250 and 300 lbs at the time, choked her three times, yet photographs show only one "little red mark," Kugler said.
The victim worked at Streamwood's John Costigan Center, a facility for children and adolescents with behavior disorders, where Patterson had resided for three years.
She testified she met Patterson on Dec. 12, 2008, when she was assigned to take him for a fast-food dinner and a movie as a reward for his good behavior. Two days later, she was assigned to transport Patterson in a JCC minivan from the Hinsdale Oasis, where his relatives had dropped him following a one-day visit, back to the center.
The victim testified that Patterson forced her to exit the expressway and pull into a deserted parking lot in a Schaumburg industrial park where he choked and sexually assaulted her.
Kugler said the case highlights one of the issues related to trying juvenile defendants as adults, specifically the videotaping of police interrogations.
"I don't think this jury got a fair opportunity to look at this case," Kugler said. "One of the most important elements was his interview with police."
Kugler said police officers should have videotaped their interview with Patterson. Schaumburg detectives testified that they did not tape their interrogation because the law requires they tape interviews only in homicide cases.
Considering his client's age, it was "outrageous there was no videotape of those statements," said Kugler, directing his ire not at the police, but at the state legislature.
"If they are going to allow teens to be tried as adults, they ought to mandate the videotaping of interrogations," he said.