Murder-rape suspect’s IQ challenged

Thursday, Feb. 10, 2005 | 9:48 a.m.

A man who claims he was coerced by police into confessing to committing murder, multiple sexual assaults and home robberies was asked Thursday if he understands his Miranda rights.

"Kind of I do, sometimes I don't," he answered.

Under the questioning of Deputy District Attorney Lisa Luzaich Rego, however, it wasn't clear whether Justin Porter was a truthful man with a low IQ who didn't understand his legal rights or if he was simply playing the part.

Porter is charged with raping six women, killing former monk Gyaltso Lungtok and invading 13 homes between Feb. 1 and June 9, 2000.

Authorities said DNA linked Porter to at least one of the alleged sexual assaults. Porter was 17 at the time of the crime spree.

Porter took the stand on Thursday as part of a hearing to determine if a confession he made to Chicago police should be admissible at trial.

The ultimate question before District Judge John McGroarty is whether the confession made by Porter to Chicago police was voluntary or coerced. The decision will be based largely on determinations about Porter's intelligence and his comprehension of his rights in addition to the testimony of the detectives who interrogated him.

Porter's defense attorneys have been trying for months to throw out Porter's confession. They allege that Chicago police coerced it from him, contending Porter only confessed on tape after police gave him an unrecorded 2.5-hour "pre-interview." Porter contends officers threatened to beat him with phone books and "take him down to the docks" for a beating if he didn't confess.

Porter looked lost during Luzaich Rego's questioning as he regularly looked to his attorneys, Deputy Public Defenders Joe Abood and Curtis Brown, for help.

On two separate occasions Abood leaned across the defense table and in an apparent attempt to have Luzaich Rego ease up said "Lisa remember he's dumb."

Porter was much more responsive to Abood's questioning only minutes earlier as he gave direct answers to the defense attorney.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys will not argue the case for several weeks while transcripts of the testimony are made available. They will first file written arguments with the court and then argue before McGroarty. It's unclear if the judge will issue a decision in or out of court.