People v. Bissonnette

This is an appeal from a conviction by a jury, and concurrent sentencing of 4 to 10 years for each of the crimes of attempt (rape) and deviate sexual assault. Defendant challenges the indictment, the proof and the sentencing.

The complaining witness was a 20-year-old woman, a student at Wheaton College. On May 16, 1971, about 10:30 in the morning, she rode with a friend to a rural pasture and timber area near a road known as Prairie Path. The friend left and prosecutrix lay on the grass to sunbathe and study some college texts. The nearest dwelling was at least a block away and no one was…