Dec. 12--A onetime partner at a prominent Chicago law firm on Friday called his acquittal on sexual assault charges "bittersweet," while his lawyer questioned how quick prosecutors were to file their case against her client.
"It has been a matter of faith, of close family and a lot of prayers," Stanley Stallworth said Friday in the Loop office of a public relations firm that is representing him.
Stallworth, 52, was acquitted Thursday by a Cook County judge after a bench trial. He spent "24 months and a week" charged with sexually assaulting an 18-year-old man who was visiting his Bronzeville home in 2013.
Therrie Miller, 24, a friend Stallworth said he has mentored, was also acquitted in the case.
Stallworth said he was asked to resign from the Sidley Austin law firm shortly after the allegation surfaced, although he continued to be paid through last year. He said he has moved to Alabama and is practicing law there.
Prosecutors in December 2013 said the man claimed he lost consciousness at Stallworth's home after being pressured to consume a drink, and woke up to find Miller performing a sex act on him. The teen said he tried to fight off the assault but that Stallworth then performed a sex act as well, according to prosecutors.
"The people around me never believed the charges," said Stallworth, who in addition to his legal career was active in the Chicago arts scene.
Prosecutors alleged that Miller met the man Nov. 27 at a South Holland barbershop, and that they hung out at Stallworth's house the next day.
Stallworth contended Friday that he had been sleeping that night when Miller and the other man woke him up, and that they hung out for a bit, talking about football and women. He said nothing sexual occurred and that the accuser left his home "in a very peaceful manner."
Stallworth said he was helped in the case by his ability to pay for top-flight legal representation, and that the experience opened his eyes to how difficult it is for criminal defendants who can't do that.
Donna Rotunno, Stallworth's attorney, said there "was a rush to charge" her client by the office of Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez.
Rotunno said police never went to Stallworth's house to see whether there was forensic evidence. She also said the DNA kit for the case was not handed over to prosecutors until 18 months after charges were filed.
She also noted that it took more than a year for prosecutors to file charges against Jason Van Dyke, the Chicago police officer charged with murder in the fatal shooting 17-year-old Laquan McDonald in October 2014. Stallworth was charged almost immediately based on nothing but an allegation, Rotunno said.
State's attorney's office spokeswoman Sally Daly said the office was disappointed in the not-guilty verdict and said the charges in the case "were brought in good faith."
"We believed then, and we believe now, that they committed this crime," Daly said.
The victim made "an immediate and specific outcry," and "there is corroborative evidence that supported the charges and the victim's account," Daly said.
geoffz@tribpub.com
