CHICAGO, IL – In a very disturbing case, prosecutors have stated that a woman with cognitive disabilities has been sexually assaulted not once, but twice, by a residential care worker who was on electronic monitoring for allegedly possessing a firearm while out on bail for his connection to a shooting.
Clarence Morgan was on electronic monitoring for allegedly shooting a man and then illegally possessing a gun while on bail.
Yet, he still worked at a facility for adults with disabilities, and sexually assaulted a woman under his care, prosecutors say.https://t.co/B3Kb4iHGZX
— CWBChicago (@CWBChicago) November 24, 2022
The suspect, identified as 33-year-old Clarence Morgan, was ordered held without bail on a charge of criminal sexual assault by Cook County Judge Kelly McCarthy.
As of Wednesday, November 23rd, Morgan is being held without bail for the criminal sexual assault case as well as for violating bond in his still-pending firearms and shooting cases.
The alleged shooting that Morgan is said to be involved in happened back on July 7, 2020, when he worked as a barber in the 6200 block of South Racine.
According to prosecutors, Morgan got into an argument and then a physical altercation with a man after giving haircuts to the man’s children. He allegedly pulled out a gun and shot the victim during the fight.
Morgan allegedly shot the man six more times while he was already down on the ground, leaving the victim with five gunshot wounds in his chest and three in his arms. He was reportedly released from custody after posting $5,000 towards his bail.
A caretaker at a South Side residential facility for disabled adults is accused of sexually assaulting a mentally disabled woman last summer while he was on electronic monitoring on charges of shooting a man. https://t.co/oenERH85wr
— Chicago Sun-Times (@Suntimes) November 23, 2022
During a bail hearing on Wednesday, November 23rd, Morgan’s private defense lawyer, John L. Sullivan said that the shooting case was set to go to trial on Tuesday, November 22nd.
Sullivan said that the alleged victim int he case “violently” attacked Morgan and that his client’s firearm “went off several times” during a struggle for control of the weapon. The lawyer said that Morgan was also shot during the altercation.
Roughly five months after the shooting, Chicago police arrested Morgan again after they allegedly found a loaded firearm next to his seat during a traffic stop. As the front passenger, Morgan denied that the gun was his.
However, later that day, Judge Charles Beach slapped him with a $200,000 bail during a court hearing. In order to get out of jail, Morgan would have to pay a $20,000 deposit. Beach also held Morgan without bail for violating bond conditions in the shooting case.
Instead of staying behind bars, Morgan was released on electronic monitoring and went to work as a caretaker at a facility for adults with mental health and developmental delays on the city’s South Side.
On Wednesday, November 23rd, prosecutors stated that Morgan sexually assaulted a 29-year-old woman, with cognitive abilities of a six-year-old, in the victim’s bedroom twice and once in her bathroom.
A caretaker at a South Side residential facility for disabled adults is accused of sexually assaulting a mentally disabled women last summer.https://t.co/6KoTYWHvke
— WBBM Newsradio (@WBBMNewsradio) November 24, 2022
The woman, who has been diagnosed with autism, schizophrenia, and developmental delays, told her mother about one of the attacks back on August 29th.
The woman subsequently told a caretaker at the facility about all three incidents and the caretaker created a photo lineup of six residents and workers at the facility who matched a description provided by the woman.
Prosecutors said that the woman picked Morgan out of the photos. On August 30th, Chicago police were notified about the incident and the woman participated in a forensic interview during the month of October.
Court records show that the owner of the residential facility was aware of Morgan’s pending felony charges and provided a letter to the court confirming his employment back in October, which is more than a month after the woman complained about the assault to her case worker.
According to prosecutors, video surveillance at the home showed Morgan going into the woman’s room on August 19th and shouting “get up” and then leaving minutes later while telling the woman to try to use the toilet.
In the video, the woman can be seen naked and sitting on a toiler in the bathroom. Prosecutors said the woman did not require assistance bathing, using the bathroom or dressing.
Prosecutors said that in another incident on August 27th that was also caught on video, Morgan was seen going into the woman’s room, raising his hand with an open palm and “smacking it down.”
Even though the “point of contact” between Morgan and the woman was not seen on the video, prosecutors said that the “smack is heard.”
It is not clear how long Morgan worked at the facility, but court records show that Morgan was removed from electronic monitoring in his pending gun cases early in November and was allowed movement from his home to work at five Hawkins CILA facilities in the city.
On Monday, November 21st, police arrested Morgan.
