People v. Hills

2021 IL App (4th) 200220-U

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. JASON L. HILLS, Defendant-Appellant.

NO. 4-20-0220

APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS FOURTH DISTRICT

January 28, 2021

NOTICE

This Order was filed under Supreme Court Rule 23 and is not precedent except in the limited circumstances allowed under Rule 23(e)(1).

Appeal from the Circuit Court of Adams County

No. 18CF450

Honorable John C. Wooleyhan, Judge Presiding.

JUSTICE HARRIS delivered the judgment of the court.

Justices Turner and Steigmann concurred in the judgment.

ORDER

¶ 1 Held: The evidence was sufficient to prove defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The trial court did not commit reversible error by giving the jury Illinois Pattern Jury Instruction, Criminal, No. 3.14 (approved Oct. 17, 2014).

¶ 2 In February 2020, following a jury trial, defendant, Jason L. Hills, was found guilty of two counts of criminal sexual assault (720 ILCS 5/11-1.20(a)(2) (West 2016)). On appeal, defendant argues his convictions should be reversed because the State failed to prove him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and the trial court committed reversible error by giving the jury Illinois Pattern Jury Instruction, Criminal, No. 3.14 (approved Oct. 17, 2014).

¶ 3 I. BACKGROUND

¶ 4 On June 13, 2018, the State charged defendant with two counts of criminal sexual assault (720 ILCS 5/11-1.20(a)(2) (West 2016)). In count I, the State alleged defendant penetrated J.A.W.'s vagina with his penis "knowing that J.A.W. was unable to give knowing consent." In count II, the State alleged defendant penetrated J.A.W.'s anus with his penis "knowing that J.A.W. was unable to give knowing consent."

¶ 5 Defendant's case proceeded to a jury trial in February 2020. In the State's case-in-chief, J.A.W. testified as follows. In January 2017, J.A.W. lived in a two-story duplex with her two minor children. Although J.A.W.'s "on-again-off-again boyfriend," Tim Gustison, usually lived in the home, J.A.W. and Gustison had recently stopped dating, and he was in the process of moving out.

¶ 6 J.A.W. knew defendant "from high school," and the two socialized often until Gustison and defendant "had a falling out," after which J.A.W. had little contact with defendant until January 22, 2017. On that date, J.A.W. "liked something that [defendant] posted" on Facebook after which the two struck up a conversation on the website. During the conversation, defendant told J.A.W. that he had just broken up with his girlfriend, "was kind of homeless," and needed a place to shower. J.A.W. offered to let defendant shower at her house that evening once her children were asleep. J.A.W. also asked defendant to bring her some medication to help with her "bad sciatic nerve problem," and defendant offered to bring "some ibuprofen, the 800 kind, and a Tramadol." While the two were communicating, defendant implied he wanted to have sex with J.A.W. by stating he "want[ed] to get under one to get over one," but J.A.W. "ma[d]e it clear to him that [she] w[as] not having any kind of sexual activity."

¶ 7 At approximately 9:30 p.m. on January 22, J.A.W. sent defendant a text message saying he could come over. However, J.A.W. told defendant to park "down the street" because shedid not want Gustison to "assume anything." When defendant arrived at around 11 p.m., he had two pills, one "big, rounder pill" and "a small pill," the latter of which defendant told J.A.W. was Tramadol. J.A.W. was familiar with Tramadol because she had previously been prescribed the medication for her back pain. J.A.W. took both pills within a few minutes of defendant's arrival. Defendant also brought a "handle" of whiskey and a bottle of soda, neither of which J.A.W. asked defendant to bring. For the next several hours, J.A.W. and defendant sat on her couch "[l]istening to music [and] talking." Although J.A.W. was "normally not much of a drinker anymore," she took three "little sip[s]" of the whiskey defendant had brought. While the two were sitting on the couch, there was no "physical contact" between them, nor did the two "talk about having any kind of sexual contact." Eventually, J.A.W. started to feel "overwhelmingly tired" and "w[as] having trouble keeping [her] eyes open." After feeling tired for some period of time, J.A.W. looked at her phone, saw that it was 2:11 a.m., and thought to herself "he's got to go." After that, J.A.W. remembered "a lot of nothing" until her son woke her up later that morning.

¶ 8 After J.A.W.'s son woke her up, she realized she was lying on her back, naked, and covered by a robe. J.A.W. never slept naked. She further realized she was in the same place on her couch where she had been when she checked her phone at 2:11 a.m. but "in more of a reclining position." J.A.W. felt a little sore and noticed "the tip of [her] face kept hurting." J.A.W. also had "no strength" in her hands. After a time, J.A.W. noticed Gustison was calling her on her cell phone. When she answered, Gustison informed her he was on his way to her house to pick up the rest of his items he had stored there. After talking with Gustison, J.A.W. tried to stand up and felt "jello-legged." When she finally managed to stand, she found "everything was just dizzy," "it was hard to walk," and she "didn't know where [she] was" or "what was going on." She proceeded toher front door to see if it was locked and noticed it was ajar. J.A.W. then began investigating the rest of the house. She noticed the bathroom was "messed up": the floor was "flooded" and the shower curtain was "hanging off the thing[,] like just draped down." J.A.W. also noticed a tampon was "at the bottom of the shower." Although J.A.W. was experiencing her period at the time, she was not wearing a tampon when she woke up. Additionally, towels and clothes, including clothes that did not belong to J.A.W., were "everywhere." J.A.W. then went to her bedroom where she found a "soaking wet towel" and a bottle of lotion in the middle of the room. Although the bed was made and in the same condition J.A.W. remembered it being when she had last seen it, when J.A.W. pulled back the bedding, she found below the comforter several pieces from a jigsaw puzzle she and Gustison had recently glued together. When Gustison arrived at J.A.W.'s home, she told him she "th[ought] [she] may have got [sic] raped" and Gustison encouraged her to go to the hospital.

¶ 9 At the hospital, J.A.W. participated in a sexual assault evidence collection examination. During the examination, J.A.W. noticed for the first time that her legs and arms were "bruised pretty badly." J.A.W. did not have these bruises before defendant came over to her house and did not know how she got them.

¶ 10 After J.A.W.'s examination at the hospital was completed, she returned home and observed the police collect evidence from the house. At this time, J.A.W. noticed a stain on the "throw" she kept over her couch which had not been present the night before. The stain was located "at the opposite end" of where J.A.W.'s head had been when she woke up that morning.

¶ 11 J.A.W. text messaged defendant multiple times on January 23. J.A.W. first messaged defendant she "need[ed] [him] to fill in some missing blanks for [her]." Defendant didnot reply to this message. A few hours later, J.A.W. texted defendant asking, in all capital letters, "what the f*** happened?" After another hour, defendant responded "what's up." J.A.W. replied, again in all capital letters, "[w]hat happened last night?" Defendant replied, "Oh, we drank, and talked, and lauhghed [sic] and cried." J.A.W. did not respond to defendant's message. However, at 11:45 p.m. the next day, defendant sent J.A.W. an image via text message which stated, "Can I sneak into your bed" and a follow-up message that said "Sorry, I had to."

¶ 12 After January 23, J.A.W. began to "recover[ ]" some memories of what happened that night. She recalled "[t]he feeling of carpet under [her] feet" and "being dragged from [her] bathroom to [her] couch that night by [defendant]."

¶ 13 The State also called Jessica Bichsel, the registered nurse who performed J.A.W.'s sexual assault evidence collection examination. According to Bichsel, during the examination J.A.W. reported that during the previous evening she had consumed "one 800 milligram ibuprofen [and] one Tramadol tablet that was given to her from her friend" as well as "three shots of [whiskey]." Bichsel testified she was familiar with Tramadol and described it as a pain medication that should not be taken with alcohol because alcohol "heightens the effect" of the medication. Bichsel then collected physical evidence from J.A.W., including a vaginal and anal swab. According to Bichsel, "[n]o injury [was] noted" to J.A.W.'s "vaginal area" or "rectal area" during the examination, but J.A.W. did have "multiple bruises and some scratches."

¶ 14 The State next called Jessica Hollensteiner, a patrol officer with the Quincy Police Department. According to Hollensteiner, she went J.A.W.'s home to collect evidence after J.A.W. completed the sexual assault evidence collection examination. Among other items of evidence, Hollensteiner took the blanket that covered J.A.W.'s couch on which J.A.W. had slept on January23. According to Hollensteiner, the blanket had "multiple brown stains that were possibly believed to be from [J.A.W.] being on her period."

¶ 15 Next, the State called Anjanette Biswell, a sergeant with the Quincy Police Department. Biswell testified that, during an interview with J.A.W., J.A.W. told her that several days after January 23, 2017, she recalled another memory from that night. J.A.W. told Biswell she remembered defendant "with his arm under her scooting her up on the couch and covering her with a robe."

¶ 16 The State also called Kelsey Fontanetta, a forensic scientist employed by the Illinois State Police. Fontanetta testified she tested the vaginal swab and the anal swab collected from F.A.W. during the sexual assault evidence collection...