Sentencing delayed for convicted rapist
Late last January, a jury found 16-year-old Ronald Patterson guilty of the 2008 rape of a mental health technician. The victim has waited more than three months to hear Patterson's sentence on three counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault.
After a court hearing Tuesday, she'll wait at least another week.
Each count carries a sentence of six to 30 years in prison and each must be served consecutively, meaning Patterson faces a minimum of 18 and a maximum of 90 years in prison. He must complete at least 85 percent of the sentence before he's eligible for parole.
Cook County Circuit Court Judge Ellen Beth Mandeltort continued Patterson's sentencing hearing to May 11 to give the defense's mitigation specialist time to speak with him.
Prosecutors had concluded the aggravation portion of the sentencing hearing with a statement from the 26-year-old victim describing the "lifelong emotional injuries" that Patterson inflicted upon her and her loved ones and urging the court to "let the punishment match the offense."
"No one deserves to be raped," she said. "My fear is that Ronald Patterson has not finished what he started."
Prosecutors presented nearly a dozen accounts of Patterson's infractions during his two-year stay at Streamwood's John Costigan Center, a residential facility for children and adolescents with emotional, mental and behavioral problems, where the victim worked.
A supervisor testified that between December 2006 and December 2008, Patterson was cited 81 times for aggressive - sometimes violent - behavior ranging from threats to assaults on staff members.
On cross examination, the supervisor acknowledged he had occasionally earned privileges for good behavior.
A ward of the state since the age of 12, Patterson has been held in a juvenile detainment facility since his arrest in December 2008. A court liaison officer at the facility testified to seven incidents involving Patterson in which she said he kicked, punched and spit at staff members and twice shattered the glass door to his room.
Cook County Assistant Public Defender Larry Kugler told the court that his office's mitigation specialist was not allowed to interview Patterson and asked that the hearing be continued to allow her time to meet with him. After a brief recess, Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Mike Andre informed Mandeltort that staff members told him Patterson's behavior contributed to the delay of the interview.
Mandeltort granted Kugler's motion for a continuance to May 11. But in a sternly expressed admonition, she warned Patterson if his misconduct prevents the interview, "the court will not hear that evidence."