A man who was charged with predatory sexual assault during the COVID-19 pandemic for assaulting his 7-year-old cousin while her remote learning camera was on was sentenced this week.
According to Fox 32, 21-year-old Catrell Walls was sentenced to 11 years in prison.
During a break from the online class, a handful of other students and the victim were still part of the Google Meets session. She had her camera on, and others could see her with her pants pulled down and Walls “forcing her to perform oral sex,” per prosecutors cited by the Fox 32 report.
She was attending the online class from her neighborhood in West Chesterfield.
In October 2020, shortly after the incident, the Chicago Sun-Times reported that other students started asking what was happening and that the assault was witnessed by a teacher.
“The teacher yelled for the other students to log off and called the girl’s name, telling her to turn off her camera, prosecutors said. The teacher allegedly then saw Walls pick up the laptop and close it,” said the outlet.
That teacher then reported the incident to the school’s principal. The principal called the girl’s family, Chicago police and authorities from Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, prosecutors explained.
An investigation into the assault revealed that the girl had been staying at her grandmother’s house during the school day. Eventually, she also described a pattern of assault that went on for around a year. She was taken to Comer Children’s Hospital for examination.
Walls admitted to the assault in an interview with detectives.
According to the Sun-Times, prosecutors said Walls broke out in tears and told officers, “I don’t know why, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”
Walls was a senior in high school at the time of his arrest and was already out on bond for felony unlawful use of a weapon. His defense attorney said that the teen was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, “which impairs his ability to control his impulses.”
“This history and his actions from this case lead me to believe that he is a threat to an individual and the community as a whole,” said Judge Charles Beach.
Victims of sexual assault can seek help through the National Sexual Assault Hotline.
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