A Chicago Public Schools counseling assistant who also founded a state-funded Englewood violence-prevention nonprofit is being held without bail after prosecutors say he groomed and sexually assaulted two girls over seven years. Charles McKenzie, 37, was taken into custody on August 5 and now faces charges of criminal sexual assault of a family member under 18 and grooming, according to Chicago police.
Cook County Circuit Judge Deidre Dyer ordered McKenzie held in Cook County Jail without bail on August 7, setting his next court date for August 26, according to CWB Chicago. Prosecutors argued successfully for pretrial detention following his arrest, and Assistant State’s Attorney Karen Crothers told the court McKenzie began grooming the first alleged victim around September 2017, after he had been dating one of her relatives. Court documents cited by CWB Chicago state he touched that victim inappropriately on multiple occasions and made repeated sexually explicit gestures toward her.
According to NBC 5 Chicago, prosecutors say the first alleged victim was around 13 years old when the grooming began. That reporting also details how a second alleged victim came forward: she reported to authorities that McKenzie sexually assaulted her in March, when she was 14, after court documents say he entered her room and removed her clothes. The girl described the assault to family members and asked a sibling for help, and that sibling later provided a recorded statement supporting parts of the allegations, the outlet reported.
How the Alleged Evidence Was Gathered
When initial disclosures to family members did not produce action, the first victim arranged for her sister to secretly observe a FaceTime call to document the abuse, per the CWB Chicago account of the court filings. Prosecutors allege McKenzie exposed himself during that video call after asking the teen to scan her room, and NBC 5 Chicago reports he identified himself and the first alleged victim during a separate Facebook call. On March 1, the first alleged victim called 911 after saying she did not feel safe at home, the station reported. Both alleged victims later participated in forensic interviews at the Chicago Children’s Advocacy Center…