I have lost all faith

[Pale Hose Jon]

I have decided to refrain from commenting on this for atleast a day as these were former classmates of mine, and i have a "slightly negative" opinion of them.

 

But i have lost all faith in my future profession.

 

Not Guilty Verdict In Gang Rape Trial

No Defense Witnesses Called

 

POSTED: 7:13 am CST March 16, 2005

UPDATED: 8:51 pm CST March 16, 2005

 

CHICAGO -- A Bridgeview court jury Wednesday found Christopher Robbins innocent of the two counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault in connection with the 2002 videotaped sex act with a 16-year-old Naperville girl at a drinking party in Burr Ridge.

 

 

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Images: Gang Rape Trial

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The jury deliberated about two hours before finding Robbins, 20, of Brookfield, innocent of two counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault in the Dec. 7, 2002, incident at 8335 County Line Rd. in Burr Ridge.

 

The girl and several of her supporters walked into the courtroom and sat in the front row of the gallery just before the jury was brought in.

 

Seated at the defense table with his hands clasped in front of him, Robbins broke into a wide grin when the verdicts were read, then began to cry and turned to hug his mother.

 

The defendant's mother, Cynthia Robbins sobbed as she embraced her son.

 

Across the aisle, the victim at first showed no reaction to the verdicts. She later began to cry and left the courtroom without comment.

 

Outside the courtroom, Robbins told reporters, "I feel great. I feel like I have a new life."

 

Robbins said it had been a long ordeal, but he was happy that the jury decided that "it wasn't a sexual assault."

 

He also said that, "Adrian (Missbrenner) and Burim (Bezeri) are going to be found not guilty too when they come back."

 

Missbrenner's mother, Dobrila Missbrenner, said as she was leaving the courthouse that she did not know where her son was, but that she wanted him to return.

 

"He better come back and face his destiny," Dobrila Missbrenner said of her son.

 

Cynthia Robbins said she "always believed he (her son) was innocent."

 

Asked why she believed that, Cynthia Robbins said, "My son just told me what happened. The truth came out."

 

Kuzas said he felt the "jury did what I asked them to do."

 

"I think they took it very, very seriously. They viewed all the evidence and came to their decision," Kuzas said.

 

Neither prosecutors nor the eight women and four men of the jury were available for comment on the verdict Wednesday night.

 

Deliberations began Wednesday afternoon. Judge Robert Smierciak said at 5:45 p.m. that shortly after they began their deliberations, the jurors asked that they be allowed to view the first 10 minutes of the videotape.

 

Deputies brought back a VCR and monitor, and the jurors watched the tape in the presence of a court reporter, Smierciak said. The equipment was removed at 5:40 p.m., and the jury resumed deliberations, he said.

 

The jurors also requested that they be allowed to view the handwritten statement that Robbins gave to prosecutors but did not sign, Smierciak said. The judge said the statement was given to them as requested.

 

The defense rested its case Wednesday without calling any witnesses, after closing arguments in the trial of Christopher Robbins, 20, began Wednesday afternoon. Robbins, of Brookfield, is charged with two counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault.

 

 

Adrian Missbrenner, Burim Bezeri, Christopher Robbins and Sonny Smith

 

 

When the trial resumed Wednesday morning, prosecutors called Assistant State's Attorney Edward Barrett, who took a written statement from Robbins at the Cook County sheriff's police headquarters in Maywood on Dec. 12, 2002.

 

Barrett testified that Robbins watched a home video of the alleged attack and identified himself and his friends on the tape. Robbins also admitted to prompting oral sex from the victim at one point on the video, Barrett said.

 

But Barrett testified that when he asked Robbins to read over the statement and sign it, the defendant told him he was "reading impaired" and could not understand the words.

 

Barrett said he offered to read the statement aloud and have Robbins sign it based on that, but Robbins told him, "I'm not signing anything," and demanded a lawyer.

 

Prosecutors rested their case at about 12:20 p.m., after Barrett's testimony.

 

The alleged victim, now 19, testified Tuesday that when she awoke on Dec. 7, 2002, in the home where she was partying, she was half-naked, her body had sexual references scrawled in marker, and she had "no idea" what had happened to her.

 

The young woman was not present when portions of the videotape were shown to jurors. The video screen was turned away from the courthouse gallery while prosecutors played the tape.

 

The alleged victim testified that the last thing she remembered was chugging down a cup of vodka and cola at about 3 a.m. and vomiting on herself, then being in a bathroom trying to clean herself up.

 

She said that in the days after the party, which took place at 8335 County Line Road in Burr Ridge, she learned though a friend that several boys had sexually assaulted her, spat on her, drew on her, and videotaped it all.

 

Also charged with sexual assault in the case were Sonny Smith, 20, Adrian Missbrenner, 19, and Burim Bezeri, 19. The alleged assault took place in a bedroom in Missbrenner's home.

 

Smith pleaded guilty in January to one count of felony child pornography, and Smierciak sentenced him to the Illinois Department of Corrections "Impact Incarceration Program," a 6-month military-style camp alternative to prison.

 

Smierciak issued arrest warrants for Missbrenner and Bezeri when the two did not appear at a status hearing last year. He revoked their bonds when it was learned they might have fled the country.

 

Prosecutors have said Smith maneuvered the camera and coached his friends while Missbrenner and Bezeri raped the girl. Robbins was accused of forcing oral sex on the alleged victim. During the assault, one of the boys inserted a cigarette into the victim and lit it while the others laughed, prosecutors said.

 

Authorities said they found both Robbins' semen and the alleged victim's DNA on the filter of a cigarette found in a heating duct in Missbrenner's bedroom, prosecutors said.

 

Joshua Kott, the prosecutors' first witness, said Tuesday that he participated in drawing on and spitting on the victim, but did not perform any sexual acts with her.

 

Kott, of Countryside, pleaded guilty to battery in 2003, and was given 30 days of service in the sheriff's work alternative program and was placed on 2 years probation, according to his testimony and court records.

 

Prosecutors said in opening statements that one of the persons heard laughing on the videotape was Robbins. They also said that at one point, Robbins could be seen walking over to the victim and forcing oral sex on her.

 

In opening statements Tuesday, defense attorney Robert Kuzas said his client had consensual sex with the girl, who went to the party voluntarily and initiated drinking contests among the teens.

 

On cross-examination, Kuzas asked the alleged victim several questions about whether she had been forced to go to Missbrenner's home or to drink alcohol, to which the girl replied she had not been. Kuzas also asked the girl about the confrontation the following Monday at Missbrenner's home.

 

"Didn't you say to them that if you didn't get that tape you were going to claim you were raped?" Kuzas asked.

 

"No," she replied.

 

Kuzas asked the girl whether she spoke with the defendants the night of the party about making a "Snoop Dogg gone wild video" with them, which attorneys for several of the other defendants had alleged at pre-trial hearings. The girl said she did not remember discussing anything like that.

[Soxy]

That breaks my heart. And shocks the heck out of me. I felt like they had a great case against those guys.

[AngelasDaddy0427]

I can't figure out how in the hell you can have a videotape of a bunch of guys taking advantage of an obviously drunk 16 year old and not be convicted.

[southsider2k5]

Did anyone follow this case close enough to know what got this assclown out of jail? From this article it seems like a cut and dry case, but there had to be something that brought back the not guilty from the jury, and I am really curious what that was???

[The Critic]

Did anyone follow this case close enough to know what got this assclown out of jail?  From this article it seems like a cut and dry case, but there had to be something that brought back the not guilty from the jury, and I am really curious what that was???

The jurors really weren't saying much, from what I read, but one juror said it was the videotape itself that made them bring a not guilty verdict.

That goes against the common thinking, for sure. Usually it seems that the ONLY way to get a conviction is to have video of the event.