Son of state senator charged with sex assault for second time
Kenwahn Van Pelt, 40, the son of state Sen. Patricia Van Pelt (D-Chicago), has been charged with sexually assaulting a woman as she slept in June — while he was released on bond in a separate sex assault case.
At the time of the alleged assault, Van Pelt was also facing charges of criminal sexual assault and criminal sexual abuse in a second case over allegations he assaulted a woman and abused another in a Matteson hotel room in February 2017, according to court records.
Reached for comment Friday, Sen. Van Pelt would not confirm Kenwahn is her son; she said “thank you” and hung up.
In the most recent case, a 29-year-old woman reached out to Kenwahn Van Pelt, who works as a club promoter, through social media when she was looking for job opportunities, Assistant State’s Attorney Jamison Berger said in court Friday. Van Pelt met the woman on June 26 at Club O, 17038 S. Halsted St. in south suburban Harvey, Berger said. The woman drank at the club and Van Pelt later drove her and another woman to his apartment in Gresham.
At the apartment, Van Pelt had consensual sex with the other woman in his bedroom and the 29-year-old fell asleep in the living room, Berger said. She woke later to find Van Pelt allegedly sexually assaulting her and ran into a bathroom. Van Pelt then left the apartment. She called someone to come pick her up, was taken to a hospital and a sexual assault kit was completed.
Van Pelt surrendered to Area South detectives on Wednesday after learning he was the subject of an investigative alert, Berger said.
On Friday, Van Pelt’s attorney, Camilo Oceguera, asked Judge John F. Lyke to set a reasonable bond in the new case, saying Van Pelt came from a “prominent family” with longtime ties to the city, was working and had several children.
Prosecutors had earlier asked for Lyke to revoke Van Pelt’s bail on the 2017 case, a request the judge granted.
“He got a huge kiss on that one,” Lyke said of Van Pelt’s previous release on an I-bond. “And he’s right back here with similar charges.”
Lyke denied Van Pelt bail on the new charges.