A Pilsen man has been charged with sexually assaulting a woman early Saturday in the Bucktown neighborhood.
Michael Giffin, 25, of the 1700 block of South Carpenter Street, was charged with one count each of aggravated criminal sexual assault and unlawful restraint, police said. He is scheduled to appear before a judge for a bond hearing Sunday.
Officers responded about 4:15 a.m. Saturday to a call for help in the 2300 block of West St. Paul Avenue in the Bucktown neighborhood and took Giffin into custody after a 26-year-old woman claimed he sexually assaulted her.
Giffin’s bail was set at $750,000 Sunday by Judge Peggy Chiampas. Giffin works as a youth soccer coach, is studying industrial design at UIC and is an assistant on the UIC soccer team, his attorney said.
Prosecutors say he met the victim at one bar and went to another bar with her, and then shared a cab back to her home.
She invited him in and they had a beer, but when she said she was tired and wanted to go to sleep, he forced her to have sex with him multiple times, prosecutors said. At one point he threatened to kill her, it’s alleged.
Afterwards Giffin went to the bathroom and the victim ran out into the hallway and screamed for help but Giffin grabbed her by the ankles and dragged her back into the apartment, prosecutors say.
Local
He then strangled her until she was unconscious, it’s alleged.
The victim later identified Giffin as her attacker, prosecutors say.
The victim was taken to Saints Mary & Elizabeth Medical Center in “stable” condition with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
Wearing a striped sweater and dress pants, he spoke during a brief hearing Sunday only to indicate that he understands he cannot contact the victim if he makes bail.
