COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — A West Side man on board a CTA train masturbated in front of a female passenger before sexually accosting her, prosecutors said Thursday.
Torrence Ivy, 28, is charged with criminal sexual abuse. He was convicted of the same crime in 2007, authorities said, and is now required to register weekly as a sex offender.
According to prosecutors, Ivy was riding a CTA Blue Line train about 7:10 a.m. Oct. 29 when he removed a napkin from his pocket, unzipped his pants and began to masturbate.
All the while, prosecutors said, Ivy stared at a 27-year-old woman seated directly across from him. The woman was on her way to work, according to Assistant State's Attorney Kristin Estrada, who spoke during a bond hearing Thursday.
As her stop drew near, the woman stood up and waited near the door, prosecutors said.
That's when Ivy got up, walked toward the woman, crouched down and shoved his head into the woman's buttocks and groin, Estrada said. The woman whipped around and yelled at Ivy, who reportedly went back to his seat.
The entire incident was captured on CTA surveillance video.
As soon as the woman exited the train, she went to Rush Hospital and reported the attack to police, prosecutors said.
An officer from the sex offender registration unit soon recognized Ivy as a homeless man who was convicted of criminal sexual abuse in 2007, Estrada said. Ivy is required to register weekly as a sex offender. Details of the 2007 case were not immediately available.
Ivy, of the 5400 block of West Congress Parkway, was arrested Tuesday. He admitted to "touching the lady on the train," Estrada said.
On Thursday, Cook County Judge Donald Panarese Jr. ordered him held in lieu of $250,000 bail.
According to prosecutors, Ivy is currently on probation for a domestic-battery conviction. He has prior convictions for aggravated battery and possession of a controlled substance.
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