Far South Side Neighbors On Alert After Attacks
CHICAGO (CBS) -- He tells his victims to count to 100 -- as he walks away.
Police say the man has attacked two women in the Far South Side's West Pullman neighborhood. A third attack, not connected to this man, happened in the nearby Roseland neighborhood.
Police are concerned about the safety of other women, as so many people head out tonight to celebrate New Years Eve.
As CBS 2's Suzanne Le Mignot reports, Roseland resident Latina Davis walks with her teenage daughter by her side.
"That's why I stay on her about when it gets dark and her being by herself," said Davis. "I keep her with a cell phone. She's going to a friend's house. We're going to go now before it gets dark. That's the only thing she can do."
Davis says she's taking extra steps to make sure her daughter is safe after three sexual assaults have happened.
Police say on Dec. 11, a 14-year-old girl was sexually assaulted here on the 100 block of E. 103rd St. in Roseland in a home.
On Dec. 15, a 24-year-old woman was getting ready to close her garage on 122nd Street, between Michigan and Indiana avenues. Police say at that moment, a man grabbed her from behind, put a gun to her head and forced her to walk through the alley then sexually assaulted her.
Before he ran away, he told the victim to not turn around, and "count to 100."
Then, on Dec. 27, a 26-year-old woman was walking on 118th Street between Racine Avenue and Elizabeth streets when a man grabbed her from behind, put a gun to her head and forced her into the alley on the 11700 block of South Throop Street.
The woman was sexually assaulted then told by the man to "count to 100" so he could get away.
"A rapist on the loose. That is terrible," said Shirley Talbert, who attends church in Roseland.
"At night, when I go out the back door, I won't go out by myself," said Corrine Winding, who also attends the same church.
Police are urging women to not walk alone and stay in well lit areas. The offender is described as a black man, between 5 feet 7 and 5 feet 9 inches tall , weighing between 150 and 180 pounds. He was wearing a black scarf, black sweat pants, a black sweater and black gym shoes.
