Date: 09-12-2014

Case Style: State of Illinois v. Garrett B. Rottau

Case Number: 2008CF001756

Judge: Richard Tognarelli

Court: Circuit Court, Madison Court, Illinois

Plaintiff's Attorney: John Fischer and Kathleen Nolan

Defendant's Attorney: John O'Gara

Description: Edwardsville, IL - The State of Illinois charged Garrett B. Rottau, age 33, with four counts of criminal sexual assault of a child (a 10-year-old girl) between March 2007 and March 2008.

Defendant denied that he had any sexual contact with the girl and asserted that there was no physical evidence of any sexual activity.

(720 ILCS 5/11-1.40) (was 720 ILCS 5/12-14.1)

Sec. 11-1.40. Predatory criminal sexual assault of a child.

(a) A person commits predatory criminal sexual assault of a child if that person commits an act of sexual penetration or an act of contact, however slight between the sex organ or anus of one person and the part of the body of another, and the accused is 17 years of age or older, and:

(1) the victim is under 13 years of age; or

(2) the victim is under 13 years of age and that

person:

(A) is armed with a firearm;

(B) personally discharges a firearm during the

commission of the offense;

(C) causes great bodily harm to the victim that:

(i) results in permanent disability; or

(ii) is life threatening; or

(D) delivers (by injection, inhalation,

ingestion, transfer of possession, or any other means) any controlled substance to the victim without the victim's consent or by threat or deception, for other than medical purposes.

(b) Sentence.

(1) A person convicted of a violation of subsection

(a)(1) commits a Class X felony, for which the person shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not less than 6 years and not more than 60 years. A person convicted of a violation of subsection (a)(2)(A) commits a Class X felony for which 15 years shall be added to the term of imprisonment imposed by the court. A person convicted of a violation of subsection (a)(2)(B) commits a Class X felony for which 20 years shall be added to the term of imprisonment imposed by the court. A person convicted of a violation of subsection (a)(2)(C) commits a Class X felony for which the person shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not less than 50 years or up to a term of natural life imprisonment.

(1.1) A person convicted of a violation of subsection

(a)(2)(D) commits a Class X felony for which the person shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not less than 50 years and not more than 60 years.

(1.2) A person convicted of predatory criminal sexual

assault of a child committed against 2 or more persons regardless of whether the offenses occurred as the result of the same act or of several related or unrelated acts shall be sentenced to a term of natural life imprisonment.
(2) A person who is convicted of a second or

subsequent offense of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, or who is convicted of the offense of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child after having previously been convicted of the offense of criminal sexual assault or the offense of aggravated criminal sexual assault, or who is convicted of the offense of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child after having previously been convicted under the laws of this State or any other state of an offense that is substantially equivalent to the offense of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, the offense of aggravated criminal sexual assault or the offense of criminal sexual assault, shall be sentenced to a term of natural life imprisonment. The commission of the second or subsequent offense is required to have been after the initial conviction for this paragraph (2) to apply.

(Source: P.A. 98-370, eff. 1-1-14.)

Outcome: The defendant was found guilty

Plaintiff's Experts:

Defendant's Experts:

Comments: