People v. Rehbein

George Rehbein was convicted of the offenses of deviate sexual assault and unlawful restraint (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1977, ch. 38, pars. 11—3, 10—3) by a jury in Cook County in February 1976. The appellate court affirmed the conviction. (54 Ill. App. 3d 93.) That court held that the prosecution had erred in its cross-examination by commenting on the accused’s silence when he had been interrogated by the police but held that the error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. We do not reach the issue of harmless error. The issue we decide is whether a prosecutor’s alleged reference to pretrial…