Opinion ID: 747772
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Cook County Conviction

Text: 9 The facts relevant to Lieberman's Cook County conviction were recited in detail in the state appellate court's opinion in Lieberman, 63 Ill.Dec. 585, 438 N.E.2d 516, and are not disputed by the petitioner. 5 The victim testified that on December 17, 1979, at about 11:30 a.m., she was checking her mailbox in the lobby of her apartment building on the City of Chicago's north side. She was approached by a white male (Lieberman), standing over six feet tall and weighing more than 200 pounds. He flashed some sort of a badge inside a black wallet-type case and claimed to be an off-duty police officer who was also employed as a plumber for the building. When the petitioner told her that there was a leak in her apartment that needed repair, the victim acquiesced and allowed Lieberman to enter her apartment. Once inside the apartment, Lieberman walked through a number of rooms, and while he was on his tour of the apartment, the victim got a good look at his face. After peering into her closet, Lieberman told the victim that it would have to be emptied so he could begin to work on the plumbing. The petitioner left for a few minutes and, upon his return, the victim began emptying out her closet. As she did so, Lieberman grabbed her from behind, held a knife to her throat, and told her that if she struggled he would kill her. He added that he had previously cut up another girl and that she should just close her eyes, take her clothes off, and relax. He directed the victim to lie on her bed and he proceeded to sexually assault her. The victim stated that during the assault, she opened her eyes and got a very good look at Lieberman's face. The petitioner fled the victim's apartment at approximately 12:00 p.m., one-half hour after he had first approached her in the lobby. 10 Approximately five minutes after the assailant left the apartment, the victim telephoned her roommate and told her about the attack. A short while later, the victim was examined at a hospital, where tests revealed evidence of recent sexual intercourse. On January 4, 1980, eighteen days after the assault, the victim identified Lieberman as her assailant in a lineup. At trial, she again identified the defendant as her assailant. 11 Three other women testified at trial: one stated that Lieberman had attempted to assault her on December 10, 1979; the other two testified that he did in fact sexually assault them on September 12, 1979, and November 16, 1979, respectively, employing a modus operandi similar to the one he was accused of using on December 17, 1979. On each of the three previous occasions, Lieberman approached the women in their respective apartment buildings and identified himself as a plumber, claiming that he needed to make repairs in their apartments (he twice claimed to be working for Peterson Plumbing Company, a non-existent entity). In the two instances on September 12 and November 16, the women believed Lieberman and allowed him entry into their apartment, whereupon he asked them to remove their belongings from their bedroom closets in order that he might repair alleged water leaks. In each case, while the women were emptying their closets, as Lieberman had requested, he grabbed his victims from behind, around the neck, and directed them to close their eyes, take off their clothes and relax. He would then proceed to criminally assault them. The two women assaulted in this fashion later identified Lieberman in a police lineup. The intended victim of Lieberman's third assault in Cook County, which took place on December 10, 1979, owned the building to which petitioner claimed to have been sent by the owner to repair. When she explained to Lieberman that she was the owner of the building and that she had never called for a plumber, he walked away. Immediately after this encounter, she notified the police and described the suspect as a very tall large white man, early 20's, sandy-brown hair, about 200 pounds, six foot two, clean shaven. 12 The evidence at trial also included three badges 6 removed from the red and white Pontiac LeMans that Lieberman was driving just prior to the time of his apprehension. 7 One of the badges was encased in a leather wallet. The victim of the assault for which Lieberman was being tried testified that the badge and the wallet looked similar to the one Lieberman displayed to her on December 17. A steak knife was also found in the car the defendant had been driving, which the victim testified resembled the knife Lieberman had in his possession when he threatened her and subsequently committed the assault. One of Lieberman's previous assault victims also testified that the knife exhibited at trial looked like the knife the assailant (Lieberman) had wielded when he committed the sexual assault upon her. 13 Lieberman, testifying in his own defense at his Cook County trial, claimed that he was with his mother on the date and at the very time the victim stated she had been attacked. He further asserted that, on November 16, 1979, the date of one of the earlier assaults, he had spent the afternoon working at his job at Lutheran General Hospital. However, when Lieberman was shown a time card at trial from the hospital which established that he had not been at work on that date, he equivocated, stating that he apparently did not work that day. He explained the presence of the knife in his car by stating that he had previously used the knife to repair speaker wire from the car's stereo. Lieberman's mother testified on behalf of her son as an alibi witness, stating that on December 17, 1979, the defendant was with her at her house in suburban Chicago at the time of the rape. Obviously, the jury chose to disregard the alibi testimony of the defendant and his mother.