One of the victims of a sexual assault early Wednesday morning is wondering why police released a "person of interest" that she's sure was her attacker.
The 22-year-old woman, whose identity NBC Chicago is not releasing, said she got a clear look at her attacker and picked him out of a police lineup. He was later released because police say he didn't completely fit the description.
"It was like the worst day of my life. What you think won't happen to you, happens to you," the woman said. "It ain't no good feeling. I still feel messed up about it."
In the first attack, police said the 22-year-old woman and her 40-year-old mother were assaulted around 4:15 a.m. inside their home on the 10300 block of South Emerald Avenue. She says she was asleep when she heard her mother cry out from her bedroom.
"She started screaming my name, so I ran back in her room and he was on top of her with his knife up to her," the woman said.
The second incident occurred at about 6:40 a.m. when a 14-year-old girl was walking to a bus stop on the 10000 block of South Peoria. Police said the girl was approached by an unknown male who dragged her to a nearby yard and assaulted her.
Roseland Ceasefire is working with community activist Andrew Holmes to get the word out about the predator and to also protect the individual who was released.
"We are trying to make sure that there is no retaliation on the young man that was released, or his family, to make sure everyone is safe and at the same time the public is aware we still have this predator," Ceasefire official Bob Jackson said.
The suspect is described as a black male between 16-22 years old, between 6-feet to 6-foot-1 inch tall, 150-170 pounds with black medium-length dreadlocks and a dark brown complexion. He was wearing a black t-shirt, baggy low-rise jeans, a long white or tan partially hanging belt with a rectangular buckle and white gym shoes.
The same man is also believed to have been hiding in an 11-year-old girl's closet at 5:30 a.m. at a house nearby. The girl woke up when the family dog started barking and her father arrived in time to see the individual jump out the window.
 |
