An Evanston woman was sexually assaulted inside her home and forced to withdraw money from several ATMs when she answered her doorbell on the 900 block of Sherman Avenue, according to the Evanston Police Department.
The 22-year-old woman last Friday saw an unknown man in the hallway of her apartment building at 7:55 a.m. when she opened her apartment door, according to a police department report. Evanston police are not releasing the woman’s name, Deputy Chief Joseph Bellino said.
She told police the man asked her if a certain person resided in the apartment building, the report said. After the woman turned to go back inside, she was approached from behind and forced into her apartment when the man put a 6-inch knife to her throat.
The man then ransacked the woman’s apartment for valuables and ordered her into her bedroom, where he forced sexual contact at knifepoint, police said.
The woman was then forced to board the El heading southbound toward Chicago at the Main Street El stop on a Chicago Transit Authority Purple Line train with the suspect. The pair stopped at three different ATMs while in Chicago, where he forced her to withdraw approximately $1,000.
He and the woman then entered a sporting goods store where he purchased $400 worth of clothes with the money he made her withdraw from her bank account. Again they boarded the El, southbound, and the woman was allowed to exit at 55th Street.
An image of the assailant was found on a security camera in the sporting goods store where the suspect had purchased clothing with the woman’s money, Bellino said.
“The case is still under investigation,” Bellino said. “We’re still asking for the public’s assistance in find this suspect.”
The man is described as a 5’8″or 5’9″ black male of medium build, with short black hair, a tattoo of “dots” on his left forearm and a slightly hunched walk.
He is said to be between 23 and 24 years old and was last seen wearing an orange shirt and baggy blue jeans.
Residents are asked for their help in recognizing the suspect, and individuals with information on this case are asked to contact the Evanston Police Department at (847) 866-5040.
Reach Laura Olson at [email protected].
