2 charged in sex assault in job corps outing

Two men have been charged with sexually assaulting a 20-year-old woman last weekend while taking part in a group outing in Gresham with the Paul Simon Chicago Job Corps Center.

Damontae Gray, 23, and 19-year-old Nicholas Benson are each charged with a felony count of criminal sexual assault. Both were denied bail at their initial hearing Tuesday.

Gray and Benson are both members of the Paul Simon Chicago Job Corps and were part of a group who went to the Martin Luther King Jr. Skating and Bowling Center at 1219 W. 76th St. for an outing organized by the center on Saturday, Cook County prosecutors said in court.

The Job Corps provides no-cost education and technical programs for 16-24-year-olds and is administered by the U.S. Department of Labor, according to its website. A spokesperson was not available Tuesday.

Prosecutors said a bottle of liquor was brought to the outing and was shared by Gray, Benson, the 20-year-old woman and others. After the woman became intoxicated, Gray led her to an area of the parking lot and sexually assaulted her, prosecutors said. Later, Benson allegedly sexually assaulted the woman in a van. When the group returned to the jobs center, the woman told several people what happened. At least two people reported the woman was “highly intoxicated” during the outing.