DOWNTOWN — A prominent Chicago lawyer was acquitted this week of criminal sexual assault charges.
Stanley Stallworth, a former partner in Sidley Austin, was charged in 2013 after prosecutors claimed he attacked an 18-year-old man who was blacking out after drinking alcohol.
Stallworth, 52, has maintained his innocence, and on Thursday, Cook County Judge Clayton Crane acquitted Stallworth and his mentee Therrie Miller, a 24-year-old man who was also charged in the attack.
Stallworth's attorney, Donna Rotunno, slammed Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez on Friday, saying "we have a prosecutor [Alvarez] who is using bad judgment ... or at least inconsistent judgment.
"How can you, on one hand, say you need 14 months to investigate a case where you have a video?" Rotunno asked, referring to the Laquan McDonald case. "She takes such care and concern and time ... to determine if she should charge a police officer. But without ... any extra evaluation, Stan gets charged the day he walks into a police station."
Rotunno, who worked as a prosecutor with the Cook County State's Attorney's Office from 2000 to 2003, claims the state only collected DNA evidence after Stallworth was charged and never searched his home, where the alleged attack took place.
Stallworth met with reporters in a Downtown conference room Friday, where he said his life "came to a screeching halt" after the charges were filed. Stallworth "was encouraged to retire" from Sidley Austin, he said, and has since moved to his home state of Alabama.
When asked why the 18-year-old man would lob false accusations against Stallworth, the attorney said, "You know, I don't know the real answer to that. I have not spoken to him since he left my home. He left my home in a peaceful manner.
"The only theory that has made any sense to me, is that a young man stayed out all night without telling his parents ... and was looking for a scapegoat. We were that scapegoat."
Rotunno said "a third party" who knew the alleged victim contacted Stallworth to suggest the 18-year-old would drop charges if he were paid.
According to Stallworth, the 18-year-old arrived at his home on Nov. 28, 2013, with Miller, a longtime mentee and friend of Stallworth's who referred to Stallworth as "his uncle." Miller had met the teen at a barbershop, and the pair were hanging out.
They allegedly arrived at Stallworth's home about 12:30 a.m., while the attorney was asleep, and asked to come in. Stallworth said Friday the trio talked about football and girls before going to bed: "It was just that kind of evening. It was not about sex or anything."
The 18-year-old had claimed he was sexually attacked by both Stallworth and Miller over the course of the evening, but Rotunno slammed the allegations and the state's investigation Friday.
She claimed no investigators ever searched Stallworth's home, and that it took 18 months to process his DNA. All the while, Stallworth had the pending case looming over him.
Stallworth said Friday he always intended to retire to Alabama, but took that retirement sooner than planned. He added he was relieved the case was over and he won because "justice was on my side."
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