|
Wrongly Convicted Database Record
|
Charge: |
Sex offender (including failure to register as s/o) |
Sentence: |
3 years |
Years Imprisoned: |
1.67 |
Year Crime: |
2011 |
Year Convicted: |
2011 |
Year Cleared: |
2013 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Illinois |
County or Region of Crime: |
Livingston |
City of Crime: |
Pontiac |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated |
Summary of Case: |
"Brian M. Kayer was wrongly convicted in September 2011 of failure to register an employment change as a sex offender in Pontiac, Illinois. On June 28, 2011 Brian Kayer was fired from his job at Interlake Mecalux, Inc. for excessive absences. In July 2011 the State charged Kayer with "unlawful failure to register employment change as a sex offender (730 ILCS 150/6 (West 2010))." The statute requires an employment change registration within three days, and when questioned by Pontiac police officers on July 6, 2011 he had not done so. Kayer made an open plea of guilty and didn't object to the State's factual colloquy. In October 2011 he was sentenced to three years imprisonment. The judge denied Kayer's motion to reconsider his sentence. Kayer appealed arguing his guilty plea and conviction were void because Illinois' Registration Act did not require him to report he was no longer employed at Interlake -- only to report if he changed employment. Consequently he had committed no crime. On May 6, 2013 by a 2 to 1 majority vote, the Illinois Appellate Court, Fourth District reversed Murphy's conviction on the basis the prosecution's information was fatally defective because it did not charge him with the crime of "failure to register an employment change," or set forth facts that would support that crime. The Court agreed with Kayer that had not changed his employment, he was fired from his job, and when questioned by police on July 6, 2011 he had not found new employment -- which would have constituted "an employment change" and triggered the registration requirement. The Court's ruling stated: "The information referred only to a change in “defendant’s employment” and the factual basis referred only to a change in defendant’s “employment status.” This discrepancy between the language of the statute and the language of the information is more than a formal defect. The change that triggers a sex offender’s duty to report under section 6 (change in place of employment) is more narrow than what the State alleged in the information (change in employment). The information is fatally defective because it does not allege a criminal offense. [] Defendant’s conviction is void because defendant’s job loss, for whatever reason, did not constitute a change in his place of employment under section 6 of the Registration Act. ... Defendant’s guilty plea and conviction were based upon actions not constituting a criminal offense. We vacate defendant's conviction as void." The dissenter, Presiding Justice Steigmann argued the majority erred: "Because I believe defendant’s no longer being employed at Interlake constituted a “change” in his “place of employment” within the meaning of section 6 of the Registration Act, I respectfully dissent." [All quotes from: People v. Kayer, 2013 IL App (4th) 120028 (Ill. Ct. of Appeals, 4th Dist, 5-6-2013)] Kayer was granted a Certificate of Innocence on June 15, 2015 by Livingston County Circuit Court Judge Jennifer Hartman-Bauknecht. Kayer filed a claim for wrongful imprisonment compensation, and he was awarded $5,000 by the State of Illinois Court of Claims." |
Conviction Caused By: |
|
Innocence Proved By: |
"On May 6, 2013 the Illinois Appellate Court, Fourth District, reversed Murphy's conviction on the basis the prosecution's information was fatally defective because it did not charge him with the crime of "failure to register an employment change," or set forth facts that would support that crime. The Court agreed with Kayer that had not changed his employment, he was fired from his job, and when questioned by police on July 6, 2011 he had not found new employment -- which would have constituted "an employment change" and triggered the registration requirement. The Court's ruling stated: "The information referred only to a change in “defendant’s employment” and the factual basis referred only to a change in defendant’s “employment status.” This discrepancy between the language of the statute and the language of the information is more than a formal defect. The change that triggers a sex offender’s duty to report under section 6 (change in place of employment) is more narrow than what the State alleged in the information (change in employment). The information is fatally defective because it does not allege a criminal offense. [] Defendant’s conviction is void because defendant’s job loss, for whatever reason, did not constitute a change in his place of employment under section 6 of the Registration Act." [All quotes from: People v. Kayer, 2013 IL App (4th) 120028 (Ill. Ct. of Appeals, 4th Dist, 5-6-2013)]" |
Defendant Aided By: |
|
Compensation Awarded: |
"$5,000 (State of Illinois, 2016)" |
Was Perpetrator Identified? |
|
Age When Imprisoned: |
34 |
Age When Released: |
36 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
Asian |
Information Source 1: |
"People v. Kayer, 2013 IL App (4th) 120028 (Ill. Ct. of Appeals, 4th Dist, 5-6-2013) (Majority 2-1 Reversing conviction because the information was fatally defective for not setting forth that Kayer committed a crime under the Sex Offender Registration statute.)" |
Information Location 1: |
https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwimoN6U08fZAhVvhq0KHdYKAKoQFggnMAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.illinoiscourts.gov%2FOpinions%2FAppellateCourt%2F2013%2F4thDistrict%2F4120028.pdf&usg=AOvVaw1SntoGId0Zi5Wlnn4tP339 |
Information Source 2: |
|
Information Location 2: |
|
Information Source 3: |
|
Information Location 3: |
|
Information Source 4: |
|
Information Location 4: |
|
Information Source 5: |
|
Information Location 5: |
|
Book About Case: |
|
Book Information: |
|
Book About Case (2): |
|
Book Information (2): |
|
Movie About Case: |
|
Comments About Case: |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org