Carpentersville trustee guilty of domestic battery

A Carpentersville trustee was convicted of four misdemeanor counts of domestic battery Wednesday and faces up to a year in jail.

Trustee Paul Humpfer, 44, was accused of hitting his wife with a baseball bat and calling her names during a May 17 argument last year.

Witnesses for the defense had taken the stand Wednesday, including Humpfer and fellow Trustee Judy Sigwalt, and the Humpfers' 8-year-old son.

While witnesses for the prosecution last month described bruises on Jacqueline Humpfer's legs and hip in the days after the May 17 incident, the defense relied on testimony about a situation involving Sigwalt's son, Martin, and Jacqueline Humpfer.

The court heard how upset and angry Paul Humpfer was after learning his wife had sex with Martin Sigwalt -- on the night Humpfer and Judy Sigwalt were sworn in for another term.

"It felt like someone had punched me in the gut," Humpfer said, describing his initial reaction. "I was very upset. I was crying and angry."

Assistant State's Attorney Liz Lovig said Jacqueline Humpfer's behavior "provides motive for the actions that took place that night."

Though Jacqueline Humpfer testified that she was afraid her husband might kill her and was calling her a slut and whore, Paul Humpfer said he did not recall using such language.

Throughout questioning, Humpfer also denied taking a bat to his wife's legs and said he didn't recall seeing a baseball bat in the house at the time of the argument.

But Lovig said the son had earlier testified that he was carrying a baseball bat around the house. In fact, the father and son had just come home from a Little League game, where Paul Humpfer learned of his wife's indiscretion with Martin Sigwalt.

The state also poked holes in testimony from both Judy and Martin Sigwalt, who provided inconsistent accounts of Jacqueline Humpfer's condition on the night she and Martin Sigwalt were caught having sex.

Judy Sigwalt said Jacqueline Humpfer was "passed out on the couch" when she arrived home after celebrating Sigwalt's May 15 reappointment to the village board.

But Martin Sigwalt said he recalled a short conversation between his mother and Jacqueline in the early hours of May 16.

"In my memory, Jackie had a conversation with my mother," Martin Sigwalt said. "It was a short conversation. It didn't last long."

Martin Sigwalt said he saw Jacqueline Humpfer walking along Huntley Road two days after the incident and did not see any bruising on her legs.

Kane County Circuit Judge James C. Hallock described the bench trial as a "classic domestic violence case, with both sides offering accounts 180 degrees different from each other."

"The truth lies some place between her testimony and his testimony," Hallock said.

After recounting testimony from witnesses for Jacqueline Humpfer, Hallock announced his decision.

"Yellowish, changing color, varied in color. That's a bruise." Hallock said, referring to testimony of Barbara Krawczyk, a colleague of Jacqueline Humpfer.

"With that this court finds the defendant guilty on all four counts," Hallock said.

In her court filings, Jacqueline Humpfer accused her husband of repeated physical and verbal abuse.

One previous incident marred the village's spring 2007 election campaign.

With Humpfer running for re-election, Village President Bill Sarto resurrected an 18-month-old incident and brought it to the Kane County state's attorney's office for investigation.

In that incident, Jacqueline Humpfer had sought and received an order of protection against her husband.

The state's attorney's office determined no charges were warranted in that case and no charges were ever filed.

Jacqueline Humpfer told the Daily Herald in a series of interviews that the 2005 incident was overblown and that she stood by her husband.

Sarto claimed he did not bring up the issues for political reasons. Humpfer disagreed, as he, Sigwalt and Keith Hinz were running as a slate and locked in a heated debate with Sarto over illegal immigration.

Humpfer's slate was overwhelmingly elected.

Sentencing will be April 10.