SKOKIE – Cook County Circuit Court gave an Evanston man, accused of sexually assaulting a Northwestern student, and his lawyer another six weeks to prepare their case Thursday morning.

Police arrested Darryl Deshawn Preston six months ago after preliminary DNA evidence linked him to the crime. Originally scheduled to appear in court Aug. 16, the court has moved back his hearing a number of times. The delays are normal for a case of this magnitude, said Preston’s attorney, Hilary James, Weinberg ’73.

“Any sexual assault case has a lot of issues that need to be looked into,” she said. “I’m working on preparing the case.”

Although Preston did appear before court Tuesday, James asked for more time to continue investigating before her client had to agree to a trial date.

The 24-year-old resident of the 2100 block of Dewey Avenue pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Aug. 29, which was delayed 13 days itself.

According to police reports, a man approached a 22-year-old female NU student as she was entering her apartment in the 1200 block of Simpson Street about 11:25 p.m. May 8.

The attacker covered the woman’s mouth, forced her into the apartment and threatened to kill her if she screamed, police said. Once he was inside the building, the man pulled a piece of clothing over the woman’s face and positioned himself so he could hide his face from her, police said.

He then took the woman to the bedroom and raped her, according to police. Afterward, he tied the student’s hands behind her back with a phone cord and then he stole her cell phone.

The court set Preston’s “final status date” for March 6. During a final status date, the defense is expected to agree to a start date for the trial, public defender Wendy Zun said. Zun has no connection to the case.

Preston’s attorney declined to comment on when the case would move to trial.

Reach Danny Yadron at [email protected].