COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — A Chatham man hoping to pay for sex with a woman he met online was instead accosted by armed robbers last week, prosecutors said.
The attackers ripped a gold cross off the 20-year-old man's neck before stealing $93, a wallet and an iPhone, Assistant State's Attorney Erin Antonietti said during a bond hearing Tuesday.
It all started on the dating site PlentyofFish.com, where the victim arranged to meet a woman and pay her for sex, prosecutors said.
The victim texted the woman as he rode a bus to the 7200 block of South Ashland Avenue about 11:30 p.m. May 11, according to Antonietti. But when the man arrived, he allegedly spotted two attackers walking out of a gangway.
Weartha Bryant, 18, pointed a gun at the victim's chest, prosecutors said, while an unknown accomplice held the man. The pair took an iPhone 5C, a Visa debit card, $93 cash, a gold chain and a gold cross from the victim, court records show.
After the attack, the victim continued to contact the woman on PlentyofFish.com, prosecutors noted. He arranged another meet-up Monday — but this time brought along police.
Officers spotted Bryant, who was wearing the same hoodie he'd donned on May 11, Antonietti said.
Once he was in police custody Monday, Bryant called his brother and arranged for the stolen gold chain to be brought to the police station, according to prosecutors.
Bryant, of the 1400 block of West 73rd Place, is currently on juvenile probation for burglary. He was charged this week with armed robbery.
Cook County Judge Adam Bourgeois Jr. on Tuesday set bail at $250,000.
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