2 camp counselors face charges after basketball incident with boy, 6

Two Matteson men were each ordered held in lieu of $10,000 bail Sunday in connection with charges that they threw a basketball at the head of a 6-year-old and pretended to sexually assault him at the Markham summer camp where they work.

Marcus S. Geralds, 18, of the 21300 block of South Kildare Avenue, and Otis J. Lane, 18, of the 0-100 block of Treehouse Court, each face felony aggravated battery in a public place charges in connection to the incident, which allegedly took place Wednesday at a Markham Park District facility at 16053 Richmond Ave., according to court records.

The men worked for the park district as camp counselors and were watching a movie with some other camp counselors, the victim and his 10-year-old sister, according to Assistant State’s Attorney Sean Brady.

Geralds and Lane each threw a basketball at the victim, hitting him in the face, Brady said.

The two then pretended to perform sexual acts on the victim at the same time, according to Brady.

Police were alerted to the incident by other counselors who witnessed the act, Brady said.

Cook County Bond Court Judge James Brown also ordered the two men to have no contact with anyone younger than 18.

Neither man has criminal backgrounds, their attorney, Shay Allen, said outside the courtroom.

Both men attended Bremen High School in Midlothian and are slated to leave for college in the coming weeks, according to Allen.

Allen said the men would fight the charges.

“They’re excellent students,” he said. “They’ve never had any problems, ever. This is over-charging and over-prosecution.”

You can read the article in the Chicago Tribune here:
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-07-28/news/chi-two-men-face-battery-charges-after-basketball-incident-with-boy-6-20130728_1_2-camp-counselors-basketball-incident-charges