DeKalb man guilty of rape, home invasion, says actions were ‘wrong’ in apology ahead of sentencing

Robert D Gaillard

SYCAMORE – A DeKalb man facing life in jail after he was convicted by a jury of his peers last month of rape and home invasion apologized in court this week ahead of his sentencing.

Robert D. Gaillard, 29, of DeKalb was found guilty after a three-day trial March 17 of armed robbery, home invasion and aggravated criminal sexual assault for a violent 2021 attack where he pistol-whipped a DeKalb man and raped a woman at gunpoint in front of her children.

He faces a minimum of 63 years to life imprisonment and fines up to $250,000.

Gaillard’s sentencing hearings began this week in front of DeKalb County Circuit Court Judge Marcy Buick. Unlike his trial, where he did not offer testimony in his own defense, Gaillard was more vocal in the courtroom, at one point interrupting Buick’s procedural questions to begin the hearing saying, “Let’s just get this over with.”

Assistant State’s Attorney Suzanne Collins, who prosecuted the case with DeKalb County State’s Attorney Rick Amato as lead, read a victim impact statement from one of the victims, a DeKalb woman. The woman said she’s since moved because of the trauma she endured after Gaillard held a gun to her head and forced her to perform oral sex while her children were in the room.

“My life has been impacted tremendously,” the woman wrote in a letter Collins read in court Thursday. “DeKalb is no longer a safe haven for me or my children, which saddens me, but these tragic events haunt me daily. Physically, mentally and spiritually and emotionally, I have had to seek outside services for me and my children for the trauma that was caused. Even though I’m not there physically, my presence speaks for itself.”

During the hearing, Collins argued Gaillard has not shown remorse for his actions. Gaillard’s defense attorney, Sycamore-based lawyer Brian Erwin, argued that prosecutors had failed to prove Gaillard’s guilt fully and questioned the use of DNA evidence in the trial.

By the end of the hearing, Gaillard was ready to offer words of his own.

“Basically, like, truthfully, I do apologize for the stuff I did, and I was wrong about it,” Gaillard said. “I finally, you know, got my bipolar medicine while I’m in the jail so that’s helping me out. ... I’m not a trouble maker. Whatever you sentence me to, it’s going to be OK because I take my accountability for the stuff I did. So that’s it.”

In a pre-sentencing statement submitted by Gaillard to the court, Gaillard said Erwin had failed him in the defense, court officials said during the hearing.

Gaillard agreed, however, to continue with Erwin’s representation for the sentencing.

Sopheria Gaillard, Gaillard’s mother, also appeared in court to offer emotional testimony, and said her son suffered from unaddressed mental illness. She wept frequently during her time on the stand, pleading with the judge to grant her oldest son lenience in his sentence and insisting what he was found guilty of didn’t happen.

“My son is a good boy,” Sopheria Gaillard said. “I always told my son, ‘Man up, whatever you do.’ ... I want this to be fair for my son, because Lord knows I teach my kids right. ... I just ask your honor to be fair for my baby. That’s all I ask.”

Buick denied a motion filed April 14 by Erwin to request a new trial or to have Gaillard’s verdict overturned.

“I think there is ample evidence ... showing the defendant’s participation,” Buick said. “I do believe there was sufficient evidence presented at trial for the jury to be able to find the defendant guilty of the charges.”

During the trial, prosecutors presented evidence that showed Gaillard broke into an apartment in the 800 block of Spiros Court on DeKalb’s north side Jan. 19, 2021 and attacked a man and a woman, seemingly in retaliation for a separate incident which involved Gaillard’s fiancée and a gun. Prosecutors said that same gun was used by Gaillard to beat a 27-year-old DeKalb man and raped a woman a gunpoint, forcing her to perform oral sex on him in front of her two young children.

Testimony was offered by law enforcement, forensic experts from the Illinois State Police and witnesses. The victims also testified during the trial, telling the jury how Gaillard broke into their home around 1:17 a.m. that night and violently attacked them. The victims’ children, ages 3 and 4 at the time, were asleep in the room where the woman was raped. The male victim’s brother, who also testified, fled the apartment and called police to report the attack.

Prosecutors for days presented the jury with evidence and witness testimony which connected Gaillard to the attack using DNA, body camera footage from DeKalb and Northern Illinois University police who responded to the scene and police interview footage. The woman victim’s DNA was found on a swab collected from Gaillard’s genitals by forensic teams, and both victims’ DNA and Gaillard’s was found on the gun, according to witness testimony and DNA forensic results presented.

Gaillard pleaded not guilty to all charges prior to the trial, and denied the rape occurred in a police interview, records show.

Buick is expected to deliberate on the sentencing testimony offered this week and hand down Gaillard’s sentence at 11 a.m. June 8.

Have a Question about this Daily Chronicle article?