WILLIAMSON COUNTY — A 57-year-old former Herrin youth football coach has been sentenced to 5-years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, after he pleaded guilty Friday in Williamson County Court to sexually assaulting a disabled woman.

Darrell Walker (Source: Williamson County)
Darrell Walker
(Source: Williamson County)

Darrell Walker, of Carterville, pleaded guilty to a 2013 criminal sexual assault charge stemming from an incident in which law enforcement said he assaulted a female client of a Herrin social service agency while he was working as the agency’s bus driver..

At the time of the sexual assault, the 32-year-old female victim was a client of Our Directions, an agency based in Herrin that employs people with disabilities. The victim, who is intellectually disabled, was riding on a bus driven by Walker at the time of the incident.

As part of the plea agreement, a lesser Class 3 felony count of sexual misconduct occurring in a role supported by state funds from the Department of Human Services was dismissed.

Per the plea agreement, Walker’s sentence was stayed, and he was ordered to report to IDOC on Dec. 26, allowing him to spend Christmas with his family.

Walker will have to serve at least 85 percent of his sentence before he’s eligible for parole. Upon his release he will be required to register for life as a sex offender.

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