Crime & Safety

Verdict Expected Tuesday in Trial of Northbrook Man Charged With Sexual Assault of a Child

Judge Daniel Shanes is expected to reach a verdict Tuesday in the bench trial of Northbrook man David Goodman, 24, who was charged with eight counts of sexual assault and sexual abuse.

Closing arguments were held Monday in the bench trial of a Northbrook man who was charged with four counts of criminal sexual assault and four counts of criminal sexual abuse.

David Goodman, 24, is charged with sexually assaulting a then 5-year-old boy from Highland Park who was a camper at Banner Day Camp in Lake Forest while Goodman was a counselor.

The boy, now 8 years old, reported in testimony earlier this month that Goodman molested him in the top room of a playhouse and in the pool at camp during the summer of 2007.

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After the alleged incidents, the child became "a different boy," said Assistant State's Attorney Ari Fisz. "His behavior completely changed. He got post-traumatic stress disorder."

But Steven Miller, Goodman's lawyer, said the incidents the boy reported "never could have happened."

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"He has a series of mental disorders which were un-rebutted and unchallenged," Miller said. "This case derives exclusively from the words of a mentally ill child."

Miller also suggested that the boy made up his allegations, citing his demeanor when he testified in court.

"He was about as nervous testifying as going to McDonalds for a Happy Meal," Miller said.

But Fisz said it was evident that the boy wasn't comfortable.

"What he was, was brave," Fisz said.

Miller also suggested that the boy's mother was not to be trusted as a witness. He said she lied about her identity when calling the camp about the incidents and referred to her "extensive" psychiatric record.

"Children are highly susceptible to being influenced by their parents," Miller said. He cited previous testimony the mother gave about a doctor finding cysts in her breasts, when she said she told her son, "Mommy's going to heaven." That incident, Miller said, could have caused the post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) two psychiatrists said the boy had.

"People with her mental illnesses blow things out of proportion," said Miller. "She is now subjecting her troubled child to that same fear."  

But Fisz said the mother's fears were understandable.

"Most women would get worried about that sort of thing," he said. "If that's what caused PTSD, why is he waking up and taking showers in the middle of the night?"

Fisz also noted that the boy missed 27 of 39 days of camp that summer.

"The last thing he ever wanted to do was go to camp."

Judge Daniel Shanes is expected to reach a verdict on the case Tuesday afternoon, which was tried in Lake County's 19th District Circuit Court in Waukegan.


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