Attorney: Consensual sex, not assault, in Aurora incident
By Dan Campana For The Beacon-News October 25, 2012 2:22PM
Eric Stallworth
Updated: November 27, 2012 10:55AM
ST. CHARLES — The attorney for Eric Stallworth, an Aurora man charged in an August sexual assault, downplayed the severity of the incident during a court Thursday hearing.
As part of his arguments to have Stallworth’s bail reduced from $300,000, attorney Ben Starks told Judge Allen Anderson the sexual encounter with a 25-year-old single mother from Joliet was “consensual” and that the two had some type of “relationship.”
“The situation is not as dire as it appears,” Starks said.
Kane County Assistant State’s Attorney Pam Monaco objected to Starks’ preview of Stallworth’s defense, and Anderson noted the defense theory was not something he could consider when deciding on a bail reduction.
Anderson agreed to lower Stallworth’s bail to $20,000, meaning he would need to post $2,000 to be released from the Kane County jail, where he has been held since being arrested in early October.
Stallworth, 22, will live in Robbins upon his release, according to Starks, who added that his client will no longer attend Aurora University.
Stallworth and Corderro Pollard, also 22, are accused of having sex with the woman at a party at their home in the 1500 block of Kenilworth Place in Aurora in August, while the woman was too drunk to consent. A third man, 25-year-old Shammrie Brown, of the 600 block of Ohio Street, is also charged with sex assault in the case for failing to intervene after seeing Pollard and Stallworth having sex with the woman while knowing she was intoxicated, prosecutors have said.
Authorities said the woman had been drinking with the three men in Naperville before ending up at the Kenilworth Place residence. Police also are looking into the possibility of similar incidents at the home.
Anderson recently lowered the bail amount for Pollard and Brown, who are scheduled to return to court next month. Stallworth has a hearing set for Nov. 1.
