Lombard man says legal team failed him during assault trial

Ronald Bosley's strange legal saga got a little more bizarre Monday.

The 31-year-old Lombard man was convicted last month of terrorizing his pregnant girlfriend on Valentine's Day. The jury took little time finding Bosley guilty, even though his girlfriend recanted previous testimony and claimed to forget any details of the attack when questioned by both prosecutors and Bosley's attorney during his three-day trial.

Facing 45 years in prison at Monday's scheduled sentencing hearing, Bosley had agreed to a 21-year prison stint that had been hammered out between DuPage County prosecutors and his legal team. Sentencing guidelines would have freed him in about 10 years, officials said.

Before handing down the sentence, Circuit Court Judge John Kinsella asked if Bosley had anything to say.

"I had ineffective assistance of counsel," Bosley said.

He claimed that his legal team from the public defender's office didn't object to what he called prejudicial statements made by prosecutors during the trial.

"I didn't see anything that rose to that level," Kinsella said, "but I don't believe I have any choice here."

Kinsella said he had to postpone the sentencing hearing and appoint new counsel for Bosley to look into his allegations before sentencing could proceed. Another attorney from the public defender's office will handle the case, he told Bosley.

Bosley was convicted of breaking into his girlfriend's apartment in Lombard and pointing a loaded gun at her head while he accused her of cheating on him. Prosecutors said his girlfriend's young daughter watched the attack. He was arrested nearby after the girlfriend's parents called police. Initially, the girlfriend gave detailed descriptions about the attack to police and later to a grand jury.

"The case is a very serious one," Kinsella said. "It could have played out in a far more serious fashion."