(no subject)
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0603030273mar03,1,2510779.story
Video survives battle in rape trial
Defense loses bid to have tape barred
By Art Barnum
Tribune staff reporter
Published March 3, 2006
The videotape of an alleged rape that caused a legal furor this week withstood another test Thursday and will remain as the main evidence against a Burr Ridge man charged with sexual assault.
Cook County Judge Kerry Kennedy denied a request from defense attorney Patrick Campanelli to bar the 13-minute tape from being admitted as evidence. Campanelli argued that the time and date of the tape has not been proved, and that the necessary legal foundation doesn't exist for it to be used.
Prosecutors say the videotape shows two young men having sex with a 16-year-old Naperville girl. Prosecutors say one of the men is Adrian Missbrenner, who is on trial on charges of criminal sexual assault and child pornography. Missbrenner, who was 17 at the time of the alleged attack in 2002, said the sex was consensual.
The accuser says she was raped. Now 20, she has testified that she had been drinking on the night of the alleged assault and has no memory of it.
The trial drew widespread attention and the ire of rape-victim advocates and others, including Gov. Rod Blagojevich, after the judge Tuesday ordered the accuser to watch the tape and answer questions or face possible jail time for contempt of court.
Kennedy's order, which came after Campanelli requested that the woman watch the videotape as he questioned her, was rescinded Wednesday. Campanelli argued his client's right to confront a complaining witness permitted him to show her the tape, but Kennedy ruled she could be questioned without viewing it. The judge hasn't commented in court on his reasoning.
The videotape was shown to the jury later Wednesday and again Thursday when Mary Widner of Downers Grove was on the witness stand. Widner was a casual friend of the accuser and took her to Missbrenner's home on Dec. 7, 2002.
Prosecutors said the tape has three segments. The first shows the accuser with Burim Bezeri of Lyons, also accused of rape, and the second shows the girl with Missbrenner, prosecutors said. The third shows several men standing next to her unconscious form, prosecutors said.
Campanelli argued that Widner was present only for the third segment and is able to confirm only that part, not either of the first two.
"This tape has to be confirmed by someone that was there and [the accuser] didn't view it and didn't confirm it," Campanelli said. "The state could have had her confirm it."
Prosecutors opposed forcing her to watch the tape, stating that she said she was intoxicated that night and either was unconscious or couldn't remember the incident. She said she had never seen the tape.
"We don't know if the tape is altered," Campanelli said. "We have no proof it is a true and accurate representation. I watched `King Kong,' but I don't know when it was made. This case is over and the videotape should be suppressed."
Assistant State's Atty. Michael Deno countered that "Mary [Widner] was able to identify everyone in all of the video and it actually shows what it purports to show."
Kennedy denied Campanelli's motion to suppress the tape without comment but said the defense attorney could submit any relevant case law on Friday.
Missbrenner's original statement to police also was offered into evidence Thursday. Assistant State's Atty. Edward Barrett wrote the report in which Missbrenner said the girl initially "picked out Burim [Bezeri]. Then she called me into the bedroom." Barrett said the defendant admits having relations with her, but stopped when she passed out.
The jury heard about Missbrenner fleeing the country for Europe in 2004 as prosecutors questioned FBI Special Agent James Stover, who said the defendant surrendered in Belgrade, Serbia-Montenegro, after nine months on the run.
Missbrenner was convicted last year of violating his bail bond and sentenced to 6 months in jail.
Damir Missbrenner, the defendant's father, testified that his son became a fugitive "because he was concerned about getting a fair trial. He feared for his life. There was constant media attention. He was getting more and more depressed. He was under home arrest for almost two years."
But Assistant State's Atty. Cheryl Schroeder said the defendant was able to go to school five days a week and to church on Sundays.
Kennedy has told the jury that he expects them to begin deliberations Friday. If convicted, Missbrenner faces from 6 to 30 years in prison.
Bezeri was charged with similar crimes. He is believed to have fled the county about the same time as Missbrenner and remains at large.
Sonny Smith of Brookfield, who operated the video camera, was convicted of child pornography and sentenced to the Illinois Department of Corrections boot camp.
Christopher Robbins of Brookfield was acquitted of similar sex crimes last year. He admitted having sex with the accuser but said it was consensual; that incident was not seen on the videotape.
this makes me truly sick.
and I am sorry for being a part of this society.
Video survives battle in rape trial
Defense loses bid to have tape barred
By Art Barnum
Tribune staff reporter
Published March 3, 2006
The videotape of an alleged rape that caused a legal furor this week withstood another test Thursday and will remain as the main evidence against a Burr Ridge man charged with sexual assault.
Cook County Judge Kerry Kennedy denied a request from defense attorney Patrick Campanelli to bar the 13-minute tape from being admitted as evidence. Campanelli argued that the time and date of the tape has not been proved, and that the necessary legal foundation doesn't exist for it to be used.
Prosecutors say the videotape shows two young men having sex with a 16-year-old Naperville girl. Prosecutors say one of the men is Adrian Missbrenner, who is on trial on charges of criminal sexual assault and child pornography. Missbrenner, who was 17 at the time of the alleged attack in 2002, said the sex was consensual.
The accuser says she was raped. Now 20, she has testified that she had been drinking on the night of the alleged assault and has no memory of it.
The trial drew widespread attention and the ire of rape-victim advocates and others, including Gov. Rod Blagojevich, after the judge Tuesday ordered the accuser to watch the tape and answer questions or face possible jail time for contempt of court.
Kennedy's order, which came after Campanelli requested that the woman watch the videotape as he questioned her, was rescinded Wednesday. Campanelli argued his client's right to confront a complaining witness permitted him to show her the tape, but Kennedy ruled she could be questioned without viewing it. The judge hasn't commented in court on his reasoning.
The videotape was shown to the jury later Wednesday and again Thursday when Mary Widner of Downers Grove was on the witness stand. Widner was a casual friend of the accuser and took her to Missbrenner's home on Dec. 7, 2002.
Prosecutors said the tape has three segments. The first shows the accuser with Burim Bezeri of Lyons, also accused of rape, and the second shows the girl with Missbrenner, prosecutors said. The third shows several men standing next to her unconscious form, prosecutors said.
Campanelli argued that Widner was present only for the third segment and is able to confirm only that part, not either of the first two.
"This tape has to be confirmed by someone that was there and [the accuser] didn't view it and didn't confirm it," Campanelli said. "The state could have had her confirm it."
Prosecutors opposed forcing her to watch the tape, stating that she said she was intoxicated that night and either was unconscious or couldn't remember the incident. She said she had never seen the tape.
"We don't know if the tape is altered," Campanelli said. "We have no proof it is a true and accurate representation. I watched `King Kong,' but I don't know when it was made. This case is over and the videotape should be suppressed."
Assistant State's Atty. Michael Deno countered that "Mary [Widner] was able to identify everyone in all of the video and it actually shows what it purports to show."
Kennedy denied Campanelli's motion to suppress the tape without comment but said the defense attorney could submit any relevant case law on Friday.
Missbrenner's original statement to police also was offered into evidence Thursday. Assistant State's Atty. Edward Barrett wrote the report in which Missbrenner said the girl initially "picked out Burim [Bezeri]. Then she called me into the bedroom." Barrett said the defendant admits having relations with her, but stopped when she passed out.
The jury heard about Missbrenner fleeing the country for Europe in 2004 as prosecutors questioned FBI Special Agent James Stover, who said the defendant surrendered in Belgrade, Serbia-Montenegro, after nine months on the run.
Missbrenner was convicted last year of violating his bail bond and sentenced to 6 months in jail.
Damir Missbrenner, the defendant's father, testified that his son became a fugitive "because he was concerned about getting a fair trial. He feared for his life. There was constant media attention. He was getting more and more depressed. He was under home arrest for almost two years."
But Assistant State's Atty. Cheryl Schroeder said the defendant was able to go to school five days a week and to church on Sundays.
Kennedy has told the jury that he expects them to begin deliberations Friday. If convicted, Missbrenner faces from 6 to 30 years in prison.
Bezeri was charged with similar crimes. He is believed to have fled the county about the same time as Missbrenner and remains at large.
Sonny Smith of Brookfield, who operated the video camera, was convicted of child pornography and sentenced to the Illinois Department of Corrections boot camp.
Christopher Robbins of Brookfield was acquitted of similar sex crimes last year. He admitted having sex with the accuser but said it was consensual; that incident was not seen on the videotape.
this makes me truly sick.
and I am sorry for being a part of this society.