People v. Page

── People v. Page ── Court: Appellate Court of Illinois Date: April 15, 2026 Category: General NOTICE 2026 IL App (5th) 250223-U NOTICE Decision filed 04/15/26. The This order was filed under text of this decision may be NO. 5-25-0223 Supreme Court Rule 23 and is changed or corrected prior to the filing of a Petition for not precedent except in the Rehearing or the disposition of IN THE limited circumstances allowed the same. under Rule 23(e)(1). APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS FIFTH DISTRICT ______________________________________________________________________________ THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, ) Appeal from the ) Circuit Court of Plaintiff-Appellee, ) Madison County. ) v. ) No. 23-CF-792 ) CHRISTOPHER L. PAGE, ) Honorable ) Neil T. Schroeder, Defendant-Appellant. ) Judge, presiding. ______________________________________________________________________________ JUSTICE VAUGHAN delivered the judgment of the court. Justices McHaney and Bollinger concurred in the judgment. ORDER ¶1 Held: Where the defendant knowingly and voluntarily pleaded guilty in exchange for an agreed sentence, and his postplea counsel fulfilled all her duties under Rule 604(d), the circuit court properly denied the defendant’s motion to withdraw his guilty plea. Because no argument to the contrary would have merit, this court grants appellate counsel leave to withdraw and affirms the judgment of the circuit court. ¶2 The defendant, Christopher L. Page, pleaded guilty to four counts of child pornography (720 ILCS 5/11-20.1(a)(2) (West 2020)) and was sentenced to imprisonment for an aggregate term of 32 years. The plea and sentence were in accordance with a fully negotiated plea between the defendant and the State. The defendant filed a motion to withdraw the plea. The circuit court denied the motion, and the defendant now appeals. His appointed appellate counsel, the Office of the State Appellate Defender (OSAD), has concluded that this appeal lacks arguable merit, and it has filed a motion to withdraw as counsel and a supporting brief, pursuant to Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 1 738 (1967). The defendant has filed a response to OSAD’s Anders motion. This court grants OSAD’s motion and affirms the circuit court’s judgment. ¶3 I. BACKGROUND ¶4 A. Charges ¶5 On April 10, 2023, the State charged the defendant by information with seven counts of child pornography, in violation of section 11-20.1(a)(2) of the Criminal Code of 2012 (720 ILCS 5/11-20.1(a)(2) (West 2020)). It was alleged that on December 11 and 12, 2022, the defendant had disseminated, by computer, seven different video files of child pornography. On April 27, 2023, a grand jury returned a superseding indictment charging those same seven counts. The circuit court appointed the public defender to represent the defendant. ¶6 B. An Aborted Plea of Guilty, followed by a Motion to Suppress ¶7 On October 25, 2023, the parties appeared before the ci