Know more. Joseph Weller and Kim M. Paul A. The defendant, Estella Daniels, appeals from her conviction of aggravated criminal sexual assault following a bench trial in Winnebago County. The offense was committed against her son, R. She received a six-year term of imprisonment.
She contends 1 she was not proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt; 2 the court erred in admitting and considering irrelevant and highly prejudicial physical evidence; 3 her rights to a fair trial and due process were violated when her attorney was barred from interviewing R. The trail of events leading up to the defendant's arrest began on August 27, , when a neighbor, Lori Leng, was told her children were smoking in a cornfield behind her house.
When she got to the field, she talked with her children, then examined a grocery bag containing magazines, a notebook and a backpack which belonged to Estella Daniels' son, R. Leng then telephoned a child abuse agency, and was subsequently contacted by the police.
Over defendant's objection, Leng identified the notebook and magazines. Rockford police detective James Thompkins also identified the items in court. During the period August 23 to October 11, , the children were interviewed separately by the police, DCFS, and its affiliate, Family Advocate, with varying frequency but initially three to four times per week. Based on information developed during that time period, the defendant and her husband, Vernon Daniels, were arrested on October The defendant was tried separately for the instant offense against her son, R.
John Germano, crime scene technician for the Winnebago County sheriff's department, identified two items found in the defendant's home during a search conducted pursuant to warrant: a camera floodlight and an eight-millimeter movie projector found in a hallway closet. On cross-examination, Germano testified the projector was not tested to see if it worked.
