Man charged with sexually assaulting woman in Lincoln Park
CHICAGO (CBS) – A man has been charged in the case of a woman who was sexually assaulted earlier this month in Lincoln Park.
Reggie Brown, 31, was arrested by Chicago police on Wednesday in the 1500 block of South St. Louis Avenue.
Police said around 3:29 a.m. on July 8, a 28-year-old woman was entering an apartment building in the 1900 block of North Sheffield Avenue when Brown sexually assaulted her before fleeing the scene.
Brown has been charged with three felony counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault, and one count each of unlawful restraint and aggravated robbery.
At his bond hearing on Friday, Cook County prosecutors said the victim was visiting a friend from Chicago, and had spent the day out with her friends, and took an Uber back to the apartment where she was staying. As she walked up to her apartment building shortly after 3 a.m., she noticed Brown standing nearby on the sidewalk, and as she was opening the door, he walked up behind her, wrapped his arms around her neck, and told her not to say anything.
Brown squeezed her neck so tight she felt faint and had trouble breathing, according to prosecutors. He pushed her onto the stairs inside the building, removed her pants, and raped her as she sobbed. After the attack, he stole cash from her purse, and when she asked him not to take her ID or credit cards, he laughed and threw them at her before running off.
Prosecutors said the victim immediately went to the apartment where she was staying, and told her friend what happened. Her friend called police, and when officers showed up, they noticed marks on the victim's arms and neck, and saw a hair clip she had been wearing during the attack in the stairwell.
Police obtained ring camera video showing the victim getting out of an Uber alone and walking to her friend's apartment building. Brown also was caught on Ring video walking on Sheffield at 3:27 a.m., just minutes after the victim's friend had called 911.
Other video footage from the area showed Brown wearing the same clothing the victim described from her attack, prosecutors said.
After police released images of the suspect to the public, an ex-girlfriend and a DCFS employee who knew him from prior contacts identified Brown as the suspect. The victim later identified him as her rapist after viewing a police photo array, according to prosecutors.
Police set up surveillance at Brown's home, and when officers approached him, he ran off, but police were able to catch up and take him into custody. Prosecutors said he admitted to trying to have sex with the victim, but said he had trouble keeping an erection, and it was possible she performed oral sex on him. He also admitted choking the woman, but claimed "they were playing around."
Prosecutors said Brown has two prior misdemeanor battery convictions and a misdemeanor theft conviction. He also failed to appear in court four times in previous cases.
He was ordered held without bail, and is due back in court on Aug. 16.
