A Grandwood Park man charged with sexually assaulting two minors is scheduled for sentencing May 5, after he requested the reinstatement of a plea deal Tuesday.
Nyasha Mbawa, 21, had withdrawn his guilty plea in November, a move that one of his defense attorneys acknowledged was “a gamble” that could have landed him in prison for life.
Instead, defense attorney LaTonya Burton told Judge James Booras on Tuesday that Mbawa has decided to vacate the motion to withdraw his guilty plea, and take the previously brokered deal.
Under the agreement, Mbawa faces between 12 and 30 years in prison for one count of predatory criminal sexual assault, a Class X felony related to the 2013 sexual assault of two females under the age of 13 while he was living in a Grandwood Park apartment complex.
Assistant State’s Attorney John Brown said he had no objection to returning to the original plea deal, and Booras set a sentencing date of May 5.
When Mbawa withdrew his guilty plea in November, defense attorney Jed Stone said “It’s a huge gamble, but he’s right.” Without the plea, Mbawa faced up to life in prison if convicted at trial of multiple Class X felony charges related to the case.
After Tuesday’s hearing, Burton said she was unsure what led Mbawa to return to his guilty plea. She indicated that Stone had spoken to Mbawa about the matter, and attempts to reach Stone, who was not at the hearing Tuesday, were not immediately successful.
Stone said in November that mitigating circumstances were discovered after Mbawa’s initial guilty plea was entered, leading to the withdrawal of the plea.
In July 2013, Mbawa was arrested by Lake County Sheriff’s deputies and charged with several counts of predatory criminal sexual assault against a child. Additional counts were added after an investigation led to a second victim, authorities said.
Mbawa is currently being held in Lake County Jail without bail.
Stone has said Mbawa was molested as a minor, and is a “regressed child sex abuse victim.”
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