People v. Rivera

Defendant was convicted, after jury trial, of several counts of sexual assault and abuse and possession of child pornography, from incidents of sexual conduct with his 13-year-old stepdaughter and her classmate. Defendant exhibited a subjective expectation to negotiate a plea, reasonable under totality of objective circumstances, and was attempting to bargain for a specific sentence of probation rather than imprisonment if he confessed. Thus, his plea-related statements, offered by two State witnesses and emphasized in closing arguments, were inadmissible, and error in admitting statements was highly prejudicial and warrants reversal. (GALLAGHER and PUCINSKI, concurring.)