Probation for Elgin teen made false rape report
A teen who falsely claimed she was sexually assaulted in March near an Elgin townhouse complex where a murder had just occurred, was sentenced to 18 months probation and 100 hours of community service.
Katrina R. Sedlock, 18, of the 0-99 block of block of Garden Crescent Court in Elgin pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor. She was initially charged with filing a false police report, a felony punishable by anywhere from probation to three years in prison.
Sedlock pleaded guilty to the reduced charge of attempted disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor, and also must pay a $915 fine, court records show.
Sedlock, who was a Larkin High School senior at the time, lived on the same block as Lisa Koziol-Ellis, who was murdered March 2 in her townhouse.
Elgin police said Sedlock told authorities she was walking a dog near Garden Crescent Drive and Wing Street on March 13 when a man asked her for a cigarette, punched her in the head and took her to a secluded area and raped her. The dog also ran away during the attack, police were told.
Police interviewed and reinterviewed Sedlock’s friends and father, who told authorities the dog went missing while Sedlock was at an ice cream shop. She eventually admitted to lying and was arrested at the police station.
Charles Bell, who served as Sedlock’s defense attorney, declined to comment on the case.
Elgin police said working on Sedlock’s case hindered the investigation into Koziol-Ellis’ murder. Police eventually arrested Paul A. Johnson, 34, who lived three doors down from Koziol-Ellis, and charged him with her murder. Johnson is being held on $5 million bail and is next due in court on Nov. 13.
Sedlock is next due in court on March 14, 2014, for a review of her community service hours. Her probation also includes drug testing, records show.