People v. Matute

(Correcting summary.) Defendant, age 24 at time of offenses, was convicted, after bench trial, of 3 counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, then age 11. Court properly denied his amended motion to suppress statements. Court's findings that officer was credible but Defendant was not credible, and that he knowingly waived his Miranda rights. are not against manifest weight of evidence. Officer read to Defendant the Miranda warnings, written in Spanish, his native language, and told officer, in Spanish, that he understood the warnings.Defendant's invocation of his right to not allocate is not a proper basis for court to rely on Defendant's lack of remorse. Court may not draw a negative inference from a defendant's exercise of his constitutional right to assert his innocence. Remanded for resentencing. (BIRKETT and SCHOSTOK, concurring.)