Man Charged With Sexually Assaulting Woman In Lincoln Square
UPDATED 04/16/12 5:46 a.m.
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A 27-year-old man was arrested on Saturday, after sexually assaulting a woman in an alley in the Lincoln Square neighborhood.
Admon Shasho, 27, has been charged with aggravated criminal sexual assault and attempted robbery.
Police said Shasho approached a 21-year-old woman in the 2300 block of West Sunnyside Avenue around 4:20 a.m. Saturday, then pushed her to the ground in an alley, placed his hand over her mouth, tore off her clothes, and sexually assaulted her.
Shasho allegedly told the victim he would kill her if she screamed, police said. He also tried to steal her purse and cell phone, but she managed to hold onto them.
At the time, longtime Lincoln Square resident Ron Psenka was fast asleep on his sofa. His wife told him she thought a woman was being assaulted in the alley.
Psenka did not wait to take action.
"I ran down the stairs. I grabbed what was available to me, which was a shovel," he said. "And I jumped over the fence and started to head down."
Psenka ran outside in his shorts, a T-shirt, and his bare feet.
He spotted the suspect ripping off the woman's clothes and chased the man for a few blocks until police caught up with the attacker.
"He picked up a branch to try and defend himself. I guess at some point, he must have realized that a crazed guy was running around with shovel in his hand, and felt, you know, he may be needed to defend himself," Psenka said. "I asked him to put it down, and to get on the ground and wait for the police."
But the suspect kept going. Psenka flagged down police on Western Avenue near Montrose Avenue. Officers eventually grabbed Shasho, and brought him back to the young woman.
She told them Shasho had sexually assaulted her.
Psenka said he's not a hero, he was just trying to do the right thing.
"The police officer said to me, he said, 'What happens if he had a gun, or a knife, or something?' You know, I really wasn't thinking about that. What I was thinking about was that poor person on the ground, and what was happening to her," Psenka said. "And something had to be done."
Shasho, of the 6400 block of North Mozart Street, was charged with aggravated criminal sexual assault and attempted robbery. He told police he drives a cab.
A judge on Sunday set bond for Shasho at $700,000.
Meanwhile, Psenka says the victim later stopped by his Lincoln Square home and thanked him.
