Photo: Demarco Whitley arrives at the Third Municipal District Courthouse in Rolling Meadows for the start of his trial today. Whitley is on trial for an alleged sexual assault of a teenage girl. A teenage girl testified Monday that she was “yelling and telling them to stop” as two Glenbard West High School football players forced her to have sex with them in a church parking lot almost two years ago.
The girl was the first witness at the trial of former Glenbard student Demarco Whitley, now 19, who is charged with sexually assaulting her an hour before he was severely injured in a car crash that killed the other teen accused in the attack, Pierre Washington-Steel.
The girl testified for about two hours Monday following opening statements in which prosecutors contradicted claims by Whitley’s attorney that the sex was consensual. The girl, then 15, said she had known Washington-Steel but had never met Whitley before the night she agreed to let them pick her up on Jan. 29, 2010.
The girl described how Washington-Steel told her he wanted her to have sex with Whitley and then became increasingly agitated at her refusals. She testified that she pushed Whitley’s hands away before Washington-Steel grabbed her by the neck and forced her to perform a sex act on him before Whitley forced himself on her.
Whitley’s attorney, Donna Rotunno, noted that the girl displayed no bruising or scratches that might show she fought back, did not attempt to leave the car or run away and could not identify Whitley in a photo lineup.
The girl said she’s suffered from nightmares and depression since the attack and had to miss months of school. Her mother also testified Monday that her daughter was clearly upset when she arrived home that night and came clean the next day about the alleged attack.
Prosecutors said Whitley’s DNA was found inside the girl’s body, on her clothing and in a condom that was found in the parking lot by police.
Whitley was charged more than a year after the alleged attack. Prosecutors said the crash that occurred later the same night near Lombard delayed their investigation, and they waited for Whitley to recover from his injuries. Whitley, who had many relatives and other supporters in the courtroom, has been out on bond since shortly after his arrest.
If convicted, he could face up to 15 years in prison. The trial is set to resume Tuesday, and Whitley is expected to take the stand in his defense.
