Teen Pleads Guilty Of Sexual Assault Posted On Facebook, Sentenced To 26 Years
(STMW) -- One of four teenagers charged with sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl in December 2012 in Englewood and then posting a video of the attack on Facebook pleaded guilty Friday and is going to prison.
Scandale Fritz, 17, pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault and Judge Timothy Joyce sentenced him to 13 years on each count to be served consecutively, for a total of 26 years, according to the Cook County State's Attorney's office.
Also charged in the assault are Justin Applewhite, Dyquier Garrett, and Kenneth Brown, all of whom were between 15 and 17 at the time of the attack, but were charged as adults with aggravated criminal sexual assault.
Justin Applewhite and Brown are being held on $900,000 bonds, while Garrett is being held on $500,000.
The 12-year-old girl walked to Fritz's home in the 400 block of West 60th Place on Dec. 15, 2012, because he knew her older brother, according to court documents. When she arrived, Fritz took her to the basement, removed her pants and sexually assaulted her, despite her resistance and repeated demands to stop, according to prosecutors.
After the first assault committed by Fritz, Brown sexually assaulted the girl, and then Applewhite forced her to perform a sex act on him, while Fritz videotaped the assault, prosecutors said. Garrett sexually assaulted her a short time later when he arrived at the home, according to court records.
The next day the girl filed a police report and went to the hospital, court documents said.
On Dec. 17, the video of the attack was posted on Brown's Facebook account, according to court documents. It was later posted on Fritz and Applewhite's Facebook pages as well.
It showed Brown waving a gun in the air during the sexual assault while all three yelled gang slogans, according to court documents.
Fritz was identified in the video because at one point he turned the camera towards his face, prosecutors said. He later provided a handwritten statement admitting his involvement.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2014. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
