People v. Ripley
State: Illinois
Court: 3rd District Appellate
Docket No: 3-96-1064
Case Date: 08/21/1997
No. 3--96--1064
_________________________________________________________________
IN THE
APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS
THIRD DISTRICT
A.D., 1997
_________________________________________________________________
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ) Appeal from the Circuit Court
ILLINOIS, ) of the 14th Judicial Circuit,
) Rock Island County, Illinois
Plaintiff-Appellee, )
)
v. ) No. 95--CF--517
)
WILLIAM P. RIPLEY, ) Honorable
) James T. Teros,
Defendant-Appellant. ) Judge Presiding
_________________________________________________________________
JUSTICE McCUSKEY delivered the opinion of the court:
_________________________________________________________________
Following a jury trial, the defendant, William P. Ripley, was
convicted of aggravated battery of a child (720 ILCS 5/12--4.3(a)
(West 1994)). The defendant was sentenced to a term of 10 years'
imprisonment.
On appeal, the defendant argues: (1) he was not proved guilty
beyond a reasonable doubt; and (2) the sentence imposed was
excessive. Following our careful review of the record, we affirm.
FACTS
On May 30, 1995, paramedics received a call that a child was
not breathing. They went to the defendant's home and found the
victim, the defendant's 15-month-old foster son, in a nonresponsive
state. The victim was transported to Trinity East Medical Center.
He was found to be unresponsive, very pale, flaccid and had
difficulty breathing on his own. He was transferred to St. Francis
Hospital in Peoria by helicopter and was treated by Dr. Robert Paul
Cruse, a pediatric neurologist.
Dr. Cruse testified that he examined the victim's eyes and saw
hemorrhages of fresh blood in the back of both eyes. The victim
underwent a computerized axial tomography (CAT) scan and magnetic
resonance imaging (MRI). Both tests revealed bleeding and areas of
hemorrhage in the brain. They also showed some swelling of the
brain. Dr. Cruse concluded that the bleeding occurred within three
to four days of the tests and that the injuries were caused by an
acceleration deceleration trauma, or shaken baby syndrome. Dr.
Cruse testified that a violent force is necessary to cause the type
of injuries found in the victim. He said that this type of injury
requires much more violent force than the force which would cause
a typical whiplash injury in a car accident. As a result of the
violent force, the veins in the victim's brain tore. The doctor
said that this is called a shear injury. Dr. Cruse specifically
stated that bouncing or jarring a child does not cause this type of
injury. Violent and rapid force of acceleration deceleration, or
shaking, is required to cause a shear injury.
Dr. Cruse testified that brain swelling caused by violent
shaking usually peaks in the third or fourth day following the
injury. Because this type of injury is like a "mega concussion,"
vomiting results and is a common symptom. Seizures are also common
from this type of trauma. Dr. Cruse said that the victim had
suffered damage to the motor area of the brain which controlled the
right side of his body. Because of this damage, the victim has
persistent paralysis to his right side and delayed language
development.
The defendant initially told the police that the victim had
fallen on May 27, 1995. When told by the police that the victim's
injuries had been caused by a violent shaking, the defendant
admitted shaking the victim in the shower on May 27. The defendant
said that he shook the victim a little bit to get him to settle
down.
At trial, the defendant's wife, Mary Ripley, testified that
she and the defendant obtained custody of the victim in November
1994. They were in the process of adopting the victim before he
was injured. She testified that neither she nor the defendant had
any experience in taking care of young children. She stated that
the defendant gave the victim a shower on the evening of May 27,
1995. She said she heard the defendant tell the victim to settle
down. After the shower, the victim acted like he was tired and
would not stand up. His eyes looked bugged out and bloodshot.
Shortly after the shower, the victim threw up. The next morning,
the victim went with them to church and acted normally. However,
during the next few days the victim had frequent episodes of
vomiting. He also had a fever the afternoon of May 29, 1995. On
the morning of May 30, 1995, the victim had a seizure and appeared
to stop breathing. The defendant called 911, and Mary started
cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
The defendant, who was 39 years old and weighed 337 pounds,
testified that the victim started to fall in the shower the evening
of May 27, 1995. He grabbed the victim and yanked him back. The
victim's head snapped back, and the defendant told him to settle
down or he was going to get hurt. During cross-examination, the
defendant admitted that he shook the victim in the shower. The
defendant said he was not angry but was trying to settle the victim
down. He demonstrated for the jury that he did not shake the
victim very hard. The defendant testified he did not intend to
hurt the victim and was not aware that shaking could cause an
injury to a child.
The State presented a rebuttal witness who testified she
talked to Mary on the telephone the morning of May 27, 1995. Mary
stated that she and the defendant put the victim in the shower as
a form of punishment when he was not behaving.
The jury found the defendant guilty of aggravated battery of
a child. The presentence investigation report indicated the
defendant had no prior criminal history. The report revealed that
he had some health problems, including high blood pressure and
problems with his feet and back. The report also stated that the
victim was now 2
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