Tramane Johnson, 27, Charged With Sexually Assaulting 16-Year-Old Girl On Beach Park Bike Path
BEACH PARK, Ill. (CBS) -- A man was arrested and charged Wednesday with sexually assaulting a teenage girl on a bike path in the Lake County community of Beach Park.
Early on Wednesday morning, Lake County Sheriff's deputies executed a search warrant and arrested Tramane Johnson, 27, of Beach Park in the attack on Monday, June 7.
Sheriff's deputies responded to the Robert McClory Bike Path just north of York House Road in Beach Park around 7:30 p.m. that evening, after the 16-year-old girl was assaulted while walking on the bike path.
Officials said as the girl was walking, a man came out of the nearby tree line, grabbed her by the neck, shoved her to the ground, forcefully removed her clothes, and sexually assaulted her.
A witness heard the girl's screams and began yelling to the girl to run for help. That's when the attacker ran off, and the witness called 911 for help.
"An individual began yelling at her from the roadway, from York House Road," Lt. Christopher Covelli with the Lake County Sheriff's Office said at the time.
Covelli said the 16-year-old was walking alone Monday night, with the sun still out. She ignored the man that yelled at her and kept walking. But he didn't give up.
"Several minutes later, she got about an eighth, quarter mile of York House Road the individual who had been yelling at her appeared from a tree line," Covelli said.
Detectives said he grabbed her by the neck, forcing her to the ground before sexually assaulting her. The teen screamed, and someone on Northshore Avenue, which backs up to the trail, shouted back. Officers believe that scared the suspect into running off. The 16-year-old ran to that Good Samaritan who called 911.
During the investigation into the attack, police obtained a hair sample from the scene and it was connected to Johnson through the Combined DNA Index System, or CODIS, authorities said. Johnson's DNA was already in the system due to out-of-state weapons charges.
Sheriff's investigators began a surveillance of Johnson's home, and evidence was collected for charges of aggravated criminal sexual abuse and attempted aggravated criminal assault.
Additional charges will be reviews, authorities said.