EDGEWATER — Just weeks after an Edgewater woman chased down an attacker who forcibly kissed her as she was out for a run, the alleged attacker was arrested and charged after the woman's fiancé spotted him, called police and chased the man down himself, authorities said.
Ilyas Jama, 33, was arrested and charged with battery, a misdemeanor, according to Officer Jose Estrada, a Chicago Police spokesman. Records show Jama lives either in the 5400 block of West Catalpa Avenue or the 5400 block of North Kenmore Avenue.
This was Jama's third arrest in the last three weeks, and his second involving the sexual harassment of a woman, court records show.
The ordeal unfolded around 7:15 p.m. Monday as the woman's fiancé, who wanted to only be identified by his first name, Chris, was walking down Granville Avenue on his way home. He spotted the man who had attempted to kiss his fiancée, Liz, as she was nearing the end of her regular lakefront jog on Aug. 5, and called police. She had taken a cellphone photo of him after the encounter, hoping to spread the word about the attack.
As he was waiting for police to arrive, he spotted an off-duty Cook County Sheriff's deputy leaving a nearby restaurant and flagged him down. The deputy and Chris then hopped in the officer's squad car and chased Jama down.
Liz said Chris and the deputy found Jama on North Broadway, actively harassing people while drinking beer on the sidewalk.
Linze Rice says many women came forward with harassment stories:
Estrada said Jama was detained by the off-duty county officer until Chicago Police arrived on the scene Monday evening. Chris said a Chicago Police officer identified Jama as a "repeat offender" who was known by police in the area.
By Tuesday, however, Jama was out on the street again after being released on his own recognizance after appearing before Cook County Judge Marvin P. Luckman in bond court, records show.
On Aug. 7, just two days after Jama allegedly assaulted Liz on her run, he was arrested around 11 a.m. in the 1500 block of West Devon Avenue after telling a woman he would sexually assault her and kill "her husband," court records show. In that case, he was charged with assault, a misdemeanor.
Those charges are still pending against him.
The arrest report from the incident details a frightening account between Jama and a woman, whom he approached "multiple times," making "multiple threatening statements" to her on Aug. 3.
The woman told officers Jama asked to perform a sex act on her and told her she was "going to be a pretty widow because I'm going to kill your husband."
The woman said she did not know Jama, and that she feared he would hurt her.
He was arrested Aug. 7 and bailed himself out on $1,200 bond, court records show.
About four hours after he was released, Jama was arrested again at 10:08 p.m. on Aug. 7 for a separate crime, records show.
In that case, he'd been asked to leave multiple times by an employee at Kulan Restaurant, 6258 N. Clark St., but refused. Police were flagged down by a worker at the restaurant and Jama was arrested.
He was able to bail himself out the following day.
On Aug. 13 he pleaded guilty to trespassing, a misdemeanor, for which he was sentenced by Cook County Judge Thomas M. Donnelly to one year of court supervision.
After DNAinfo Chicago published Liz's story of chasing the man down, dozens of concerned residents came forward to tell their own stories of interactions with the man identified as Jama — including another woman who told DNAinfo she'd fought him off after he tried to take her purse.
"I am disappointed to hear that he is already back on the street. It seems like he has a repeated pattern of really violent behavior toward women," Chris said. "I hope that [police take] the complaints against him seriously, before he escalates his activity and really hurts someone. He sounds like a very dangerous individual."
Liz said this is just another example of the types of street harassment women face on a daily basis.
She said originally she was hesitant to file a police report because she felt police "already had enough to deal with."
But after hearing from a slew of other residents sharing similar stories, Liz said she knew she needed to officially report her experience to the authorities in an effort to help spare others the same fate.
"It's really strange to think that a case of street harassment has led to all this," she said. "It's something women experience every day, so often we don't even really consider it noteworthy anymore. I never really think of catcallers as dangerous — just jerks. I know this guy went farther than catcalling, but it's still amazing to think how far this has gone."
Because of what he called Jama's "dangerous" and "violent" behavior toward women, Chris said he'd like to see some more severe consequences.
Liz agreed, saying it was scary to hear Jama was "wandering the neighborhood," actively harassing people, but hoped that the court system would "push to make sure he gets the help he needs rather than just tossing him in jail."
Jama is next due in court Aug. 26.
Contributing: Erica Demarest
For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:
