People v. Smith

Defendant was convicted, after jury trial, of multiple sex offenses against two unrelated children. Court properly admitted evidence of Defendant's alleged (and uncharged) sexual abuse of his then stepdaughter and her cousin over 6-year period, ending 12 years prior to alleged abuse at issue in present case. Court properly balanced statutory factors and found similarities of prior incidents to charged incidents sufficient such that probative value of evidence was not substantially outweighed by its prejudicial effect. Court did not abuse its discretion in admitting allegations of prior abuse to show propensity per Seciton 115-7.3 of Code of Criminal Procedure. (HARRIS and STEIGMANN, concurring.)