An armed sexual assault suspect is in jail after allegedly attacking a woman in Rogers Park late Thursday night, Chicago police said. Detectives will now investigate whether the man is the serial rapist they have been seeking in West Rogers Park.
Around 11:07 p.m., CPD officers encountered a 21-year-old woman while conducting a traffic check just across the border in Evanston. According to police, she told them that a man had just pulled out a knife and sexually assaulted her as she walked down a gangway in the 1800 block of West Lunt.
Other officers quickly apprehended a suspect in the 1800 block of West Greenleaf.
The woman was transferred to St. Francis Hospital in excellent health.
While Tuesday night’s attack occurred slightly east of an area where a serial rapist has been targeting women for several months, there are similarities between the most recent assault and previous incidents.
For example, the serial attacker used a knife to threaten his victims. And last night’s suspect was on a bike, as others of the serial rapist’s victims have described.
“Police are investigating whether this case is related to the pattern of sexual assault and robberies that we warned of earlier this week,” Ald. Debra Silverstein (50th) said in an email Friday morning. “My thoughts and prayers are with yesterday’s victim, and with the other women who were assaulted over the last several months. I am hopeful that the investigation will bear fruit and the police can remove a dangerous criminal from our streets.”
Just days earlier, CPD issued a community alert warning of a masked guy who used a knife to rob and sexually abuse people inside and near their homes at night. The alert stated that four women had been targeted since late last year.
The first recorded occurrence occurred on the day following Christmas on the 6200 block of North Bell. The man entered into a woman’s first-floor apartment around 2:50 a.m. and “made unlawful sexual contact” with her while armed with a knife, according to the alert. He snatched the woman’s keys and PlayStation before departing.
At 11:29 p.m. on January 25, he broke into a home on the 2300 block of West Arthur. The CPD alert makes no mention of any contact between the victim and the criminal in this occurrence.
He attacked again at 9:03 p.m. on March 25 in the 6200 block of North Artesian. According to CPD, the man pulled out a knife and took an item from a woman as she entered her building. About 20 minutes later, he targeted another woman as she entered a home in the 6200 block of North Oakley. He robbed her and made “illegal sexual contact” before fleeing the scene.
On April 25, at about 8:55 p.m., a man targeted a woman in the 6100 block of North Campbell. Once again, a woman was walking inside her home when the man confronted her with a knife, “committed unlawful sexual contact,” and stole her belongings.
CPD described the suspect as a Black male between the ages of 23 and 35, standing 5’8 “to 6’1”. He normally wears a dark sweatshirt, dark jeans, and dark shoes, with a mask covering half of his face. The first victim stated that the man may have had facial tattoos. At least one victim said that the man escaped on a bike with fat tires.
Detectives from Area Three are responsible for the inquiry. For more information on crime pattern #P25-3-022, please call 312-744-8261 or 312-744-8263.
