A man from Chicago was handed a 10-year prison sentence in a Johnson County court on Tuesday after being charged with third degree sexual assault. The assailant, Jailyn Kelly, age 26, was found guilty of sexually assaulting a woman residing in Iowa City who was asleep on the night of October 17, 2018. According to what transpired in the court, the woman reported waking up to a dazzling light from a phone, with a man she hadn’t previously known attacking her, which she later reported to the authorities.
Terrified and disoriented, she tried to shield her body while expressly refusing his advances, but to no avail as he proceeded to wrench the covering off her. Upon managing to reach her phone and send an SOS text to a friend, the assailant, identified as Kelly, hastily collected his belongings and abandoned the premises. The aforementioned sequence of events was captured in a formal criminal complaint.
Investigation insiders revealed that a surveillance video caught a man bearing Kelly’s likeness entering the very apartment where the woman slept. The same figure was again captured on camera leaving the building sometime later with a similar blanket, his phone’s flashlight being the only source of light. Post-incident, Kelly admitted stepping foot in the Iowa City apartment complex on the night in question, but he denied any involvement with the victim.
As the investigation unfolded, Kelly’s DNA was scrutinized, a standard procedure which, in this case, led to a damning revelation: there was a match with DNA extracted from the sexual assault kit that had been used to examine the victim. The confluence of these individual strands of evidence built an unassailable case against Kelly.
The jury, having weighed the gravity of the crime and the compelling body of evidence presented, passed a unanimous guilty verdict in April. With palpable relief punctuated by a chilling recounting of her harrowing encounter, the victim penned a poignant impact statement that resonated in the courtroom during the sentencing on Tuesday.
Her statement began with, ‘I believe there isn’t a more vile, soul-searing, and unforgivable act than what my violator did to me.’ She wrote about the profound impact the attack had on her mental and emotional well-being, stating that she had lost a part of herself which she could never recover.
She spoke of the trauma lingering within her – a potent cocktail of dread, revulsion, and the relentless agony of the event that had been so maliciously imposed upon her. Her words served as a stark testament of the survival instinct, coupled with an indomitable spirit – flanked by the pervasive fear.
Despite being tormented by feelings of fear and revulsion, the victim declared, ‘I have been resolved to advocate for myself. My determination stems from the knowledge that there are countless victims who remain silent.’ Her resolve was a glimmer of hope, that despite the depth of her ordeal, she was committed to using her experience in raising awareness and fostering change.
