Background
Following a bench trial in Cook County, Keshawn L. Bates was convicted of misdemeanor criminal sexual abuse for knowingly touching S.C.’s breast when she was 16 and Bates was less than five years older. The court sentenced him to two years of probation.
S.C. testified that Bates drove her to a secluded area on May 13, 2023, pressured her for sex, threatened her, and touched and kissed her breast. She later obtained emergency contraception with Bates’s credit card and went to a hospital, where a sexual-assault kit was collected. A swab from her breast contained Bates’s DNA. At trial, the court admitted sexually explicit texts between Bates and S.C., including messages before the incident and messages concerning Plan B.
The Court’s Holding
The appellate court affirmed. Although Bates objected at trial, he did not include the evidentiary issue in his posttrial motion, forfeiting ordinary review. His request for plain-error review failed because the trial court did not clearly or obviously err in admitting the texts.
The messages were relevant to Bates’s intent and state of mind toward S.C., including whether he knowingly touched her breast. They concerned his sexual interest in this particular victim rather than general character, propensity, or unrelated other acts. Their probative value was not substantially outweighed by unfair prejudice. Because the underlying evidentiary claim lacked merit, counsel was not ineffective for failing to preserve it.
Key Takeaways
- Texts expressing a defendant’s sexual interest in the alleged victim may be admissible to show intent and state of mind.
- Evidence is not unfairly prejudicial merely because it reflects negatively on the defendant; it must do so for reasons largely unrelated to the case.
- Counsel cannot be ineffective for failing to preserve a meritless claim.
Why It Matters
The order illustrates the distinction between impermissible propensity evidence and communications that bear directly on a defendant’s intent toward the alleged victim. It also reinforces Illinois’s preservation rule: an objection at trial must generally be renewed in a posttrial motion, absent plain error.