People v. Dykes

Defendant, John Dykes, was found guilty in a jury trial of rape, aggravated incest and indecent liberties with a child and was sentenced to a term of from 10 to 18 years in the Illinois State Penitentiary. Defendant appeals.

The issues presented for review are: (1) whether defendant’s conviction should be reversed because the prosecutor allegedly committed the following errors during closing argument: the prosecutor argued matters not in evidence; the prosecutor commented on defendant’s failure to testify; the prosecutor vouched for the credibility of witnesses; (2) whether the rebuttal…