Neurologist to Analyze Sex Assault Defendant

This Week in Court Watch, March 5: Oak Forest sex assault case; Oak Lawn election fraud case; and murder case hearings for Orland Park, Frankfort and New Lenox cases.

The Southland's major criminal and civil cases heard in Cook County and Will County courts this week. OAK FOREST — Attorneys for David Baitman, a former Village of Oak Forest attorney charged with kidnapping and sexual assault, are looking to obtain a medical opinion about their client’s fitness for trial. It is possible that a University of Chicago neurologist specializing in dementia will produce an evaluation for the court by Baitman’s next status hearing on April 30, according to courtroom testimony. OAK LAWN— Myrna Jurcev, a community activist under indictment and accused of forging signatures on a petition to put a referendum on the election ballot, appeared for a status hearing. She faces one felony charge of mutilation of election …

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Court Watch: Trial Set for Animal Rescue Owner

Dazzle's owner goes to trial March 7. Also, arraignment postponed for man accused of setting fire to his family's south suburban restaurant.

The Southland's major criminal and civil cases heard in Cook County and Will County courts this week. TINLEY PARK — Trial starts March 7 for Dawn Hamill, the owner of Dazzle’s Painted Pastures Animal Rescue and Sanctuary, which was raided nearly one year ago. She faces dozens of counts related to animal cruelty and neglect. More than 100 animals, including a dead cat and horse, were seized from Hamill’s Tinley Park property, which prosecutors have painted as a den of feces and urine, with inadequate space and heat. When put on the stand last month for a pretrial issue, Hamill described an environment of “healthy” and “playful” animals, though she admitted that the sanctuary had been twice cited for unsanitary conditions by the Illinois …

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Court Watch: Murder Defendant's Case Delayed Over Constitutional Rights Ruling

Also back in court: An Aurora serviceman accused of sexual abuse might not undergo psychological testing, as requested by Marine instructor.

The Southland's major criminal and civil cases heard in Cook County and Will County courts this week. FRANKFORT — The murder case against Brian Trainauskas is being delayed, pending an appeal by prosecutors that rests on whether the man’s constitutional rights were denied during a police interrogation. At the Illinois Appellate Court level, the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office is challenging Circuit Judge Richard C. Schoenstedt’s ruling that sheriff’s police deprived Trainauskas of his right to counsel during an interrogation Jan. 23, 2009. Detectives allegedly kept him talking, after he asked for a lawyer, by saying a witness had identified him in a photo lineup. Prosecutors contend that Trainauskas met and spoke with detectives …

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Court Watch: Attorneys for Youth Soccer Coach to Review Kid-Porn Photos

Also, Oak Lawn woman in child porn case is allowed to visit her niece, and an accused sexual assailant is told to keep wearing his electronic monitor.

The Southland's major criminal and civil cases heard in Cook County and Will County courts this week. FRANKFORT — Because some of the evidence against Darrell Stephenson may include pictures of a naked child, defense attorneys expect to meet with prosecutors at the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office by Jan. 12, 2012, and review the state’s case. Accused of having sexual contact with a boy half his age, Stephenson, 24, is charged with multiple counts related aggravated criminal sexual abuse and possession of child porn. He has pleaded not guilty and remains in jail on bail totaling $90,000. He once coached youth soccer in Frankfort and surrounding communities, according to prosecutors. OAK LAWN — A 20-year-old Oak Lawn woman charged with…

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Young Girl Testifies Against Florida Man Accused of Assaulting Her

Jon J. Filipkowski pretended to be a teen-age boy to lure the Frankfort girl into a liaison at a Mokena hotel, according to authorities.

Sexually charged e-mail messages between a Florida man and a Frankfort girl were read aloud in a Will County courtroom Tuesday for a jury deciding the man's fate. Jon J. Filipkowski, 33, of Jensen Beach, Fla., is being tried on charges of aggravated criminal sexual abuse and traveling across state lines to engage in sex acts with a minor. Prosecutors say he impersonated a 13-year-old boy to lure the Frankfort girl, who has Asperger's syndrome, into having sex with him in a Mokena hotel. Sun-Times Media covered the trial Tuesday: Before the girl took the witness stand Tuesday, her father explained how the girl’s medical condition left her without many friends and made her a target of bullies at school. He said his daughter sees everything …

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Southland Stories

'I'll Rent to You If You're the Right Color'

An Orland landlord said as much, in the Justice Department's eyes, and that'll cost him 35 grand. Two big vacancies at the IPO. A Tinley doc is accused of forcing a patient into sex. And Kanye West's Fatburger closes. Miss a week on Patch, miss a lot.

This Monday morning hangover is killing us. After all that partying Sunday, we don't even have an NFC Championship and a Super Bowl berth to comfort us. With all the hype last week leading up to the Bears-Packers showdown, we understand if you tuned out the news last week. But what a newsy week it was. An Orland Park landlord found that his discriminating taste in tenants will cost him $35,000 thanks to an investigation by the U.S. Justice Department. In an exclusive interview with Patch, the executive director of the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra explained why he's leaving the Southland. A Tinley Park doctor was accused of forcing himself on a patient. Meanwhile, heartfelt tales of need spilled out at a Cook County hearing on the fate …

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Mokena Man Assaulted High School Girl, Police Say

Robert C. Smith, 27, had a sexual relationship with a student at Metea Valley High School, according to police and school officials. He's now charged with sex assault.

A Mokena man who teaches science at Metea Valley High School in Aurora has been accused of having an inappropriate sexual relationship with one of his students and now faces criminal charges. Naperville police filed charges today against Robert C. Smith, 27, after they found he was having a sexual relationship with a teen-aged girl. Smith, of the 19600 block of Foxford Lane in Mokena, is charged with two counts of criminal sexual assault, each a Class 1 felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Police said the victim is between 13 and 18 years old. Police were contacted on Sept. 28 by the school resource officer at Metea, according to a news release from the Naperville Police Department. The sexual contact took place in Naperville, …

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George Slefo

8:11 pm on Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Great coverage!   more ›