In re E.S

On April 19, 1985, the office of the State's Attorney of Randolph County filed a petition for adjudication of wardship concerning E.S., a minor, alleging that one day previously the minor (then 15) committed the offense of aggravated criminal sexual abuse in that he committed a sexual act with his five-year-old cousin. After an adjudicatory hearing, the circuit court found the minor delinquent and adjudged him a ward of the court. After preparation of a dispositional report and a dispositional hearing, the minor was placed on probation until his 18th birthday. The minor appeals. • 1-4 The minor first contends the court erred in finding the five-year-old girl competent to testify. Witnesses age 14 and over are presumed competent to testify. If testimony is to be permitted by a child less than 14 years of age, the judge must inquire whether the witness is sufficiently mature to receive correct impressions by his senses, to recollect these impressions, to understand questions and narrate answers intelligently, and to appreciate the moral duty to tell the truth. The decision of the trial judge in this matter will not be reversed absent abuse of discretion or misapprehension of the law. (People v. Sims (1969), 113 Ill. App.2d 58, 61, 251 N.E.2d 795, 796-97.) In reviewing competency determinations, reviewing courts consider the length and depth of the preliminary examination and scrutinize the testimony of the witness at trial (People v. Seel (1979) 68 Ill. App.3d 996, 1004, 386 N.E.2d 370, 377), but must recall that the points to be covered in a competency inquiry are rarely discernible from trial testimony (People v. Sims (1969), 113 Ill. App.2d 58, 251 N.E.2d 795).