Retrial concludes with a guilty verdict for Palatine man

The resolution to Baldomero Garcia's second trial on charges he sexually assaulted his ex-girlfriend's child came more quickly than his first, which ended in a mistrial last April after the jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict in 12 hours of deliberation.

This time, the eight-woman, four-man jury deliberated for little more than an hour on Wednesday afternoon before finding the 29-year-old Palatine man guilty of two counts of predatory criminal sexual assault, a class X felony that carries a possible sentence of six to 30 years in prison, which must be served consecutively.

Prosecutors concluded their case with Palatine Police officer Carlos Gonzalez, who interviewed Garcia after the victim told two female relatives about the abuse, which occurred in January and February 2008.

Gonzalez testified that he spoke to Garcia - who neither speaks nor reads English - in Spanish, and that Garcia admitted abusing the victim.

"He spoke clearly with us," said Gonzalez, describing the defendant as calm, forthcoming and remorseful. "There was never a time when he didn't understand us or we didn't understand him."

Gonzalez translated into Spanish Garcia's written confession that he abused the child four times, which was prepared by a Cook County assistant state's attorney in English. Asked why the defendant didn't write out his own statement, Gonzalez replied that policy holds that in cases where the State's Attorney's Office is involved, prosecutors prepare the statement.

Additionally, Garcia has limited ability to read and write in his native language, which would have made any statement he prepared illegible, Gonzalez said.

Cook County Assistant Public Defender Larry Kugler took issue with that during his cross examination, questioning why police made no attempt to secure an impartial interpreter and suggesting Gonzalez' role as investigator and interpreter put his client at a disadvantage. Kugler also questioned why the interview was not videotaped. Gonzalez replied that department policy requires officers to tape only homicide-related interviews.

"He was treated exactly as anyone else would have been treated," Gonzalez said.

In his closing statement, Kugler repeated his contention that the charges against his client amounted to a rush to judgment, saying that from the beginning, police approached the case as if Garcia was guilty.

"The road to hell is paved with good intentions and so is the road to justice," Kugler said, reminding the jury that the now 8-year-old victim also claimed to have been abused by the mother and later recanted those charges. The victim's mother was acquitted of abuse earlier this year following a bench trial before Cook County Circuit Court Judge John Scotillo, who is also presiding over Garcia's case.

Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Mike Clarke called the victim courageous and bristled at the defense's characterization of the victim as a liar. If the child had used big words and proper names of body parts the jury would have reason to be suspicious because "that is not an 8-year-old talking," Clarke said. "(The victim) acted like a kid. (The victim) was genuine."

Kugler insisted the child's previous lie, an inability to remember dates and times, and a failure to recall certain details, coupled with a physician's report that indicated no signs of physical abuse, added up to reasonable doubt.

Clarke countered by reminding the jury that "sexual offenses are secret crimes" that often leave no evidence.

Kugler concluded his closing argument with the claim that his client was railroaded. "This was not a fact-finding investigation, this was a framing," he said.

In the end, the jury found otherwise.

Garcia next appears in court for a pre-sentence hearing on Sept. 16.