People v. Atherton

Defendant was convicted of two counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child and sentenced toa total of 24 years inmprisonment. Court's inquiry whether venire would follow the instruction that "defendant does not have the burden of proving himself innocent" sufficiently conveyed the principle that Defendant was not obligated to present any evidence on his behalf. Because victim testified at trial, none of the statements admitted per Section 115-10 of Code of Criminal Procedure were improper. The Confrontation Clause places no constraints on the use of declarant's prior testimonial statements when the declarant is subject to cross-examination at trial. Court was not required to conduct Frye hearing as evidence pertaining to child-sexual-abuse-accommodation syndrome is generally accepted. Crime Stoppers fine of $100 was improperly imposed, as statutory authority for such fines is limited to conditions of probation, conditional discharge, and supervision, not incarceration. (BURKE, concurring; McLAREN, specially concurring.)