Aug. 23--A man sexually assaulted a college student as she was entering her apartment near the DePaul University campus on the North Side, prosecutors alleged Saturday.
Isidrio Valverde, 40, of the 5100 block of North Sheridan Road, was charged in connection with the sexual assault of a 21-year-old woman around 1:40 a.m. Thursday in the 900 block of West Belden Avenue, according to a statement from the Chicago Police Department.
In bond court Saturday, prosecutors said Valverde approached the victim, a DePaul student, as she was returning home to her apartment. Valverde knocked the woman to the ground, scratched her thigh, and stuck his fingers in her vagina. He also kicked her while she was on the ground.
She began screaming and Valverde fled, prosecutors said.
Security cameras from the building showed Valverde's face, and he was later identified by name to police, prosecutors said. The victim then identified him through a photo array.
When police attempted to arrest Valverde, he crashed the car he was driving into a tree, prosecutors said. As he tried to drive off, his door hit a police officer. The officer was taken to a hospital, where he was treated and released, according to the police statement.
In Valverde's car, police found the shirt he was seen wearing in the video recording of the assault, according to prosecutors.
The woman was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center in good condition, police said.
Valverde was charged with one felony count of aggravated criminal sexual assault and bodily harm, and one felony count of resisting and obstructing a peace officer, according to police.
He was also charged with one misdemeanor count of reckless diving, one misdemeanor count of driving on a revoked license and one misdemeanor count of driving an uninsured motor vehicle. He was also cited with a traffic violation for failing to have due care while a pedestrian is on the roadway, the statement said.
Valverde's defense attorney said he is married and has four children. He has been a mechanic for 16 years.
Thursday's sexual assault was the third attack in Lincoln Park and Old Town neighborhoods since Aug. 9, according to a police alert.
The other two attacks happened around 3:45 a.m. Aug. 9 in the 1900 block of North Bissell Street and around 12:25 a.m. Aug. 15 in the 100 block of West Goethe Street, according to police.
Cook County Circuit Judge Laura Marie Sullivan set Valverde's bond at $500,000.
gpratt@tribpub.com
