Glenbard W. athlete accused of assaulting girl hours before fatal car crash

Cook County prosecutors announced an indictment Thursday against a former Glenbard West High School football player on charges he sexually assaulted a 15-year-old girl last year in a Rolling Meadows parking lot.

Authorities say Demarco Whitley, 18, of the 400 block of Saint Moritz Drive in Glen Ellyn, and a deceased friend, Pierre Washington-Steel, are accused of assaulting the girl in January 2010, only hours before the two then-high school students were injured in a one-car crash at the corner of Swift and St. Charles roads in Glen Ellyn. Washington-Steel died days later as a result of his injuries.

Whitley's defense attorney, Donna Rotunno, insisted her client will “absolutely” fight the charges.

“I think he is a lovely young man. He seems to have been doing everything right in his life and he comes from a nice family,” she said of her client, who is free on $50,000 bond.

Whitley completed high school, and is currently applying to colleges, Rotunno said.

Wearing a white shirt and tie, Whitley stood quietly during Thursday's hearing. He was accompanied by about a dozen friends and family members, all of whom declined to speak after the proceedings.

Whitley next appears in court on March 17 for arraignment.