In re T.C., a Minor

              FIFTH DIVISION
August 22, 2008
No. 1-07-0393
In re T.C., a Minor ) Appeal from the
(The People of the State of Illinois, ) Circuit Court of
) Cook County.
Petitioner-Appellee, )
v. ) No. 03 JD 3603
)
Traven C., ) Honorable
) Rodney Hughes Brooks,
Respondent-Appellant). ) Judge Presiding.
PRESIDING JUSTICE FITZGERALD SMITH delivered the opinion of the court:
Following a juvenile court proceeding, T.C., a minor, was adjudicated delinquent of
aggravated criminal sexual assault and sentenced to five years of probation. As a result of being
adjudicated delinquent of aggravated criminal sexual assault, T.C. was classified as a “sexual
predator” pursuant to the Sex Offender Registration Act (SORA) (730 ILCS 150/1 et seq. (West
2004)), thereby mandating him to register as a sex offender for the rest of his natural life. On
appeal, T.C. argues that the State failed to prove him delinquent beyond a reasonable doubt and
that he should have been afforded the right to a jury trial as a safeguard against the burdensome
requirements of SORA.
At the juvenile proceeding, the victim, P.W., testified that on May 25, 2003, when he was
in second grade, he was at his great-grandmother’s house. T.C., his cousin, was also there. P.W.
testified that he was lying on a bed in the basement when T.C. came downstairs and got in bed
behind P.W., pulled down the back of his pants, and put his penis near P.W.’s anus. When asked
by the State if he felt it “touching” when T.C. put his penis to P.W.’s anus, P.W. responded,
“Yes.” When asked if he knew what his anus was for, P.W. responded, “Poop.” P.W. testified