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Peeping Tom, Break-In Victim 'Relieved' After Man Arrested

By  Alisa Hauser and Lizzie Schiffman Tufano | June 24, 2017 1:37pm | Updated on June 26, 2017 8:58am

 Francisco Chavez, 39, was denied bond.
Francisco Chavez, 39, was denied bond.
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Cook County Sheriff Office

WICKER PARK — A Humboldt Park man has been charged with multiple felonies related to two separate incidents in Wicker Park earlier this month.

Francisco Chavez, 39, of the 2600 block of West North Avenue, faces multiple felony charges, including home invasion, criminal sexual abuse, attempted sexual assault and burglary.

Chavez is charged in two incidents that occurred in Wicker Park. The first, on June 14, happened in the 1400 block of North Cleaver Street, and the second, on June 23, happened in the 1400 block of North Wood Street, according to Officer Michael Carroll, a Chicago Police Department spokesman.

According to the Sun-Times, Chavez allegedly entered a woman's home and fondled her in the June 23 incident.

In the June 14 incident, Chavez is charged with trespassing, home invasion, aggravated criminal sexual abuse, attempted criminal sexual assault and burglary, police said. 

The victim in the June 14 incident, a 27-year-old woman who asked not to be named, said that she felt "relieved and less tense" now that a suspect has been caught. The woman told DNAinfo that Chavez's mug shot matches the man who followed her home and she identified him through a police lineup of six possible offenders.

Police issued a community alert to the Wicker Park neighborhood on June 19 after the woman reported that a man followed her home and later was seen peering through her window. The woman fled her apartment and sought help from witnesses, who chased the man away.

Less than two hours later, the woman said the same man broke into her home through an open window.

On Saturday, Chavez was denied bond, according to the Sun-Times. He has a status hearing Monday, court records show.

The victim in the June 14 incident posted what happened on a private neighborhood watch Facebook page along with a description of the man, to alert her neighbors.

"Guys, he was hiding in my bedroom. I don't know this man. Please please please be careful bc he's out there. DM me if you see someone matching his description in the hood so I can call the cops again," she posted.

The woman said she was walking home from Jewel around 12:15 p.m. on June 14, "with tons of people out" when a man exposed himself while grinning at her. He started to follow her, and she crossed the street and initially was able to lose him.

The man was seen several minutes later looking into her home through the window, and then about an hour after that broke into her home and hid in her bedroom closet.  

Police had no information about the June 23 incident.