Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Photos of Rogers Park Sexual Assault Suspect Released

By  Benjamin Woodard Kyla Gardner and Quinn Ford | December 19, 2012 2:09pm | Updated on December 20, 2012 11:05am

 Guardian Angel passed out fliers to commuters Thursday at the Morse "L" stop after a woman was sexually assaulted at the Lunt entrance the morning before.
Guardian Angels and Morse Station Assault
View Full Caption

ROGERS PARK — Members of the Guardian Angels, a community watch group, passed out fliers Thursday morning at the Morse Red Line station in the wake of a sexual assault and robbery of a woman near the L stop.

The 50-year-old victim was attacked Wednesday morning, police said.

The suspect is described by police as 20 to 35 years old, about 5 feet 10 to 6 feet tall, with short black hair, according to a community alert issued Thursday.

The woman was walking south on Glenwood Avenue and was near the Morse station and Lunt Avenue when the man grabbed her about 5:25 a.m., authorities said.

The suspect pushed her into a nearby construction site, where he sexually assaulted her, police said. He took her purse and other personal items before running south on Glenwood and into an alley off Morse Avenue.

 Surveillance footage captured the alleged suspect, described by police as 20- to 35-years old, about 5 feet 10 inches to 6 feet tall, with short black hair.
Surveillance footage captured the alleged suspect, described by police as 20- to 35-years old, about 5 feet 10 inches to 6 feet tall, with short black hair.
View Full Caption
Chicago Police Department

The woman was taken to a local hospital for treatment, police said.

The suspect was seen on security footage boarding a Red Line train at the Bryn Mawr station in Edgewater at 4:50 a.m. Wednesday, according to a security alert issued by the CTA.

The man then exited the train at Morse and loitered at the Lunt Avenue entrance, where he chased the woman and sexually assaulted her, according to the alert.

Ald. Joe Moore (49th) sent an email to constituents Thursday morning about the attack and said he had spoken with the Rogers Park Police District Cmdr. James Roussell, who ordered more patrols in the area.

Several police officers stood outside the Lunt entrance Thursday morning.

The station was renovated recently, and the area where the assault took place is under construction to become a gated bicycle parking lot.

Work there is expected to be completed by the end of February 2013,  according to the CTA.

Derris Hudson, 54, shook his head Thursday morning as he read a Guardian Angel flier that described the attack.

"It's just terrible," he said. "I've had a bad feeling about this area. It's just wrong, man."

Sahily Sanchez, an L rider who lives near the station, said she wasn't shocked there was an assault in the area.

"I basically speed-walk home because you do see some sketchy people around here," she said. "I guess I have to be extra safe."

Kelly Henigan, who was waiting for a train on the station platform, said she'd heard about the assault on the morning news.

"I guess it doesn't surprise me," she said.

The 37-year-old said she doesn't ride the train after 9 p.m., but that she believes the neighborhood has become safer over the five years she's lived here.

Ruth Meridgen, 23, has lived in Rogers Park for six months and uses the Lunt Avenue entrance to the station every day.

"Honestly," she said, "I feel this neighborhood is pretty dangerous. I wish it was a little bit safer."

The Guardian Angels at the station said they'd be patrolling the area all day and would be offering to walk people home tonight.

Anyone with information about the attack is asked to call police at (312) 744-8200.