Chicago

Man Charged in Violent Wrigleyville Kidnapping, Sexual Assault Held Without Bond

A judge ordered the man charged in connection with the violent kidnapping and sexual assault of a woman in Chicago's Wrigleyville neighborhood earlier this month to be held without bond. 

Jarqueese O'Brian Henigan, 31, faces charges of aggravated criminal sexual assault with a weapon, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated vehicular hijacking with a firearm, possession of a controlled substance, robbery armed with a firearm and armed habitual criminal - all felonies, Chicago police said Saturday in a release. [[416549223, C]]

He was also charged with one misdemeanor count of resisting a police officer, and was found to be wanted on an out-of-state warrant. Prosecutors said Sunday that Henigan, a convicted felon who was released on parole in October, was wanted for rape and robbery charges out of Kansas. 

Henigan, of the 10300 block of S. Halsted St. in the Washington Heights neighborhood, was taken into custody Friday in that same block after being positively identified as the suspect who allegedly attacked a woman just steps from Wrigley Field on March 9. 

Around 8:30 p.m., a 24-year-old woman was exiting a garage behind her apartment building in the 3700 block of N. Fremont St. when Henigan approached her and pulled out a gun, according to police. [[415892923, C]]

Authorities said he then allegedly forced her into the trunk of her blue 2012 Mazda and sexually assaulted her, before taking off on a joyride that spanned more than 20 miles, all while the victim was locked inside the trunk of the vehicle. 

"He then began demanding the code for her cell phone as he drove," Assistant State's Attorney Amari Dawson said Sunday. "He also asked her for directions to the expressway."

The victim told police they stopped several times, and Henigan attempted to take money out of her bank account. Prosecutors said Sunday that he was captured on surveillance footage attempting to use her credit cards at two locations near his home. 

Henigan drove to several locations on Chicago's South Side, police said, before crashing the car into a tree in the 11500 block of S. Throop St. after a high speed chase with officers. That's when the woman said she used the emergency trunk release to escape. [[415893043, C]]

She was hospitalized with several injuries, including bleeding on her brain, authorities said. Prosecutors said Sunday that Henigan confessed to everything except the sexual assault, and was expected to appear in court again on Monday. 

Henigan's arrest provided some relief to concerned residents of the neighborhood where the assault took place. 

"That someone has the audacity to do something like that, it's good to know that they're gone," said Steve Sheehan, who lives in the area.

The March 9 attack was one of at least three sexual assaults reported on the city's North Side in less than two weeks, leaving neighbors on edge

The most recent incident occurred in the Lincoln Park neighborhood on March 12, when police said a man armed with a knife robbed and sexually assaulted a woman as she was attempting to enter a home in the 1900 block of N. Orchard St. 

Another attack occurred on Feb. 28 in the 1200 block of W. Barry Ave. in the city's Lake View neighborhood. In that incident, officials said a 25-year-old woman was walking to her car when a man armed with a gun approached and demanded all her money. She complied, according to police, at which point he then forced her into her vehicle and sexually assaulted her before fleeing on foot.

No one is in custody in connection with either of those incidents and the investigations remain ongoing. 

Authorities previously said they believed the assaults that took place on Barry Ave. and Fremont St. may have been committed by the same offender, though Henigan has only been charged in connection with the March 9 incident. 

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