A 16-year-old girl who was touched inappropriately on a Chicago Transit Authority Blue Line train during rush hour Thursday is speaking out in hopes that her story will raise awareness.
“It’s just a horrible feeling,” said Natsumi Jiminez. “It’s something no one should ever feel.”
Jiminez says she was on her way home from school on the Blue Line around 6 p.m. when the attack happened near the Logan Square station.
“He grabbed me by my waist and humped me,” she told NBC Chicago. “When the train stopped I ran out and told the conductor.
Jiminez said she was in her uniform at the time.
“Why would a creep go after a girl in her uniform?” she said.
The man managed to get away from two men who tried to hold him inside the station, according to witnesses.
Police said they are investigating the attack and are still searching for the suspect.
“Other people shouldn’t be scared of what could happen or what he can do,” Jiminez said. “If you’re small or not, you can do something. Go to someone, pepper spray, do something. Don’t just stay silent.”
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Since June, there have been five similar attacks in Logan Square. Police, however, say they haven’t found a connection between the incidents.
"At this point we have no reason to believe what happened on the Blue Line is related to the previous incidents in Logan Square," Chicago police said in a statement.
Jiminez hopes her story will raise awareness for some of the many commuters in the city.
“If [someone] is touching you, push away and tell someone what happened,” she said. “Be careful on crowded trains and buses.”
