WEST ROGERS PARK — Residents of a neighborhood street lined with trees and ivy-laced bungalows were shocked when they heard a woman had been sexually assaulted by a man who broke into her home through a back door screen in June near Albion and Fairfield avenues.
"We're terrified," said Nadia, who's lived in the area for 30 years. "Hopefully they catch him really fast."
Police say a Hispanic man with a tattoo on his right forearm tore through the screen of a back door about 4 a.m. on Father's Day and assaulted the woman in her bedroom.
A community alert and sketch of the suspect was released Friday.
The Guardian Angels, a neighborhood watch group, was at the busy intersection of Devon and California avenues later in the day to pass around the sketch of the suspect.
Miguel Fuentes, the group's director, said he was concerned about not only this attack but several other sex assaults reported throughout Chicago in the last two months.
"It's starting to become an epidemic," Fuentes said.
One of the incidents occurred in May, a mile east at the intersection of Devon Avenue and Clark Street, where Alexandria Clarke was forced by the neck from a bus stop into a nearby alley in a daytime attack.
She later revealed her identity and appealed to the public to keep searching for her attacker.
Fuentes said he hopes that with the detailed description from police they'll find the June 16 attacker.
"He's got a tattoo on the right arm. That's a big plus," Fuentes said.
Residents were returning from work and school Friday in nearby Rogers Park.
"This is usually a pretty quiet neighborhood," said Jose Villagomez, 21, who's lived nearby all his life.
Julieta Jadormio said she's always careful about locking windows and doors, and she avoids walking at night. Since learning about the attack and seeing the TV news trucks line her street earlier in the day, she'd be especially prudent.
"This is a quiet neighborhood," she said.
