A convicted rapist was ordered held without bail Saturday after DNA evidence linked him to a violent sexual assault last year in the Gresham neighborhood.
Darrell Wright, 62, of Dolton, faces a felony count of aggravated criminal sexual assault causing bodily harm, according to Cook County prosecutors and court records.
On Feb. 18, 2018, Wright asked a 54-year-old woman to help him clean an apartment he was rehabbing in the 1700 block of West 80th Street, according to Cook County prosecutors and court records.
The woman, who had known wright for around 4 or 5 years, went to eat with her alleged attacker before they went and cleaned the apartment for about an hour, Assistant State’s Attorney Jason Fisher said. After briefly leaving, Wright and the woman returned to the apartment about 2 a.m. to search for his missing bus pass.
Wright then grabbed the woman, punched her in the face and started choking her after threatening to “take her breath away,” Fisher said. When she pulled out a box cutter to defend herself, Wright snatched it from her and held it to her neck and face.
“B—-, I did 18 years. I’ll kill you,” Wright allegedly said before forcibly having sex with her.
Afterwards, Wright walked the woman to a bus stop and she allegedly taped him apologizing to for the attack, Fisher said. She was later treated at a hospital for marks on her throat and injuries related to the sexual assault.
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DNA evidence collected during her examination later linked Wright to the attack, Fisher said. He was taken into custody Thursday.
Wright, a registered sex offender with multiple felony convictions, was sentenced to 36 years in prison after being convicted of rape and aggravated kidnapping in 1980, Fisher said. He was also found guilty of criminal sexual abuse in 2006 and sentenced to 7 years in prison.
Wright’s public defender, Hussain Khan, said his client is a divorced high school graduate who now lives with his sister, who stood in the gallery during Sunday’s hearing.
Judge Mary Marubio denied him bail and set his next court date for Monday.
