Wife tries to get out of testimony against husband
A former Wauconda woman who agreed to testify against her husband in a child molesting case said Tuesday she no longer wants to be a witness.
However, Circuit Judge Fred Foreman said he would not allow Tiffany Horak blanket protection under the Fifth Amendment to skip her testimony at her husband's trial this week in Lake County Circuit Court.
Carl Horak, 26, is charged with predatory sexual assault of a young girl, the same girl Tiffany Horak has pleaded guilty to molesting.
In exchange for the 14-year sentence she is serving, Tiffany Horak agreed to testify about what she observed her husband doing to the girl.
But on Tuesday, Lake County Assistant Public Defender Karen Levy told Foreman her client intended to invoke the Fifth Amendment on two grounds.
First, Levy said, Tiffany Horak was concerned she would be charged with perjury if she did not testify to the exact events she described to prosecutors during her plea negotiations.
Second, Levy said, her client was concerned she may open herself to additional charges if she describes acts not covered in her plea agreement with prosecutor Ari Fisz.
Fisz responded that Tiffany Horak would not be subject to perjury charges no matter what she said on the stand because her previous statements to him and police officers were not under oath.
He also said Tiffany Horak should not worry about incriminating herself because he only intended to ask her about what her husband did to the child, not what she did.
Fisz said he was leaving open his option of revoking his agreement with Tiffany Horak, and could do so if her testimony deviates significantly from her prior statements.
Foreman said he would evaluate any request for Fifth Amendment protection from Tiffany Horak and her attorney on a question-by-question basis when she is on the witness stand.
Should she refuse to answer a question that he believes she has no right to decline under the Fifth Amendment, Foreman said, he will hold her in custody until she agrees to answer.
If Fisz is unsatisfied with her testimony and moves to withdraw the plea agreement, Foreman said, he will consider that issue after Carl Horak's trial is concluded.
Testimony in Carl Horak's trial is expected to begin today. If convicted of all the counts against him, he faces a prison sentence of 78 to 120 years.