Violence prevention founder, CPS employee charged with sexually assaulting and grooming girls

First publishedAug 14, 19:57 UTC

Last updatedAug 14, 20:46 UTC · 16m ago

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Chicago Sun-Times6Violence prevention founder, CPS employee charged with sexually assaulting and grooming girlsAug 14, 19:57 UTCOpen ↗

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<p>The founder of a violence prevention program on Chicago’s South Side has been accused of sexually assaulting and grooming two teenage girls over the course of more than seven years.</p><p>Charles McKenzie, 37, was charged with the two felony counts on Aug. 7 and was ordered held at the Cook County Jail, court records show.</p><p>McKenzie is the founder of Englewood First Responders, a nonprofit focused on violence prevention that has <a class="Link" href="https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/sites/community-safety/home/PeoplesPlanforCommunitySafety/cvi-program.html" target="_blank" ><u>partnered with the city</u></a> and has earned <a class="Link" href="https://illinoiscomptroller.gov/financial-reports-data/find-a-report/state-contracts" target="_blank" ><u>lucrative contracts</u></a> from the state. He has also worked as a counseling assistant at Chicago Public Schools and was still employed by the district when he was arrested earlier this month, according to court records.</p><p>The allegations stretch back to September 2019, when McKenzie is accused of sexually assaulting a girl who was as young as 14 at the time, according to Cook County prosecutors.</p><p>McKenzie allegedly made “sexual facial gestures” toward the girl and grabbed her inappropriately while she was playing at a youth center where he worked.</p><p>The girl outcried to her sister and eventually to her mother, but police weren’t immediately notified, prosecutors said.</p><p>The girl then set up a FaceTime call with McKenzie so her sister could see how he behaved, prosecutors said. After allegedly asking the girl to show him the room to make sure she was alone, he exposed himself to her and made more explicit facial gestures.</p><p>The girl’s sister took screenshots but their mother “did nothing” to alert the authorities, court records show.</p><p>McKenzie sexually abused that girl’s relative in March 2026 while she was laying in bed, prosecutors said.

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