Chicago — Prosecutors say a woman with the cognitive abilities of a 6-year-old was sexually assaulted twice by a residential care facility worker who was on electronic monitoring for allegedly possessing a firearm while he was on bail for shooting a man.
Cook County Judge Kelly McCarthy ordered Clarence Morgan, 33, held without bail on a charge of criminal sexual assault on Wednesday afternoon. He is now being held without bail for violating bond in the still-pending firearms and shooting cases, too.
The shooting occurred on July 7, 2020, when Morgan worked as a barber in the 6200 block of South Racine. Prosecutors said Morgan got involved in an argument and then a physical fight with a man after giving haircuts to the man’s children.
Morgan pulled out a gun and shot the victim during the fight. Morgan then fired six more shots while the man was down, leaving the victim with five gunshot wounds in his chest and three in his arms, according to prosecutors.
He was released from custody after posting $5,000 toward bail.
During Wednesday’s bail hearing, Morgan’s private defense lawyer, John L. Sullivan, said the shooting case was set to go to trial on Tuesday. Sullivan said the alleged victim in the case “violently” attacked Morgan, and Morgan’s firearm “went off several times” during a struggle for control of the weapon. Morgan was also shot during the altercation, Sullivan said.
About 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. Morgan, the front passenger, denied that the gun was his.
But Judge Charles Beach slapped him with a $200,000 bail during a court hearing later the same day, court records show. That would require Morgan to post a $20,000 deposit to get out of jail. Beach also held Morgan without bail for violating bond conditions in the shooting case.
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.
Prosecutors on Wednesday said he sexually assaulted a 29-year-old woman in the victim’s bedroom twice and once in her bathroom. The woman, who has been diagnosed with autism, schizophrenia, and developmental delays, told her mother about one of the attacks on August 29, prosecutors said.
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 the woman picked Morgan out of the photos.
Chicago police were notified on August 30, and the women participated in a forensic interview last month, Assistant State’s Attorney Nicole Murphy said. On Monday, police arrested Morgan to face charges.
Sullivan said Morgan “was” a “caregiver or supervisor” at the facility and now works part-time as a barber.
