Aug. 26--A traveling artist who describes himself in his social media accounts as a recovering heroin addict has been charged with sexually assaulting a 19-year-old woman in the back of his van in June in Chicago, Cook County prosecutors said Wednesday.
His attorney confirmed that Samuel North, 29, travels the country selling paintings and prints on the street and in gallery shows under the name Sammy thrashLife. A blog chronicling his life includes passages about his interest in violent sex. North's attorney, Julie Aimen, said North has been living in Normal, Ill., but has no permanent address. She said North had graduated from Georgetown University Law Center but never took the bar exam. A Georgetown Law spokeswoman confirmed North graduated from the school in 2011.
North was charged with criminal sexual assault. Prosecutors said the rape took place in the 300 block of West 23rd Place in the Chinatown neighborhood. If convicted, he faces 4 to 15 years in prison.
North met a 19-year-old woman outside a music venue and offered her a ride home in his van, prosecutors said in court. The two stopped for food, eating in the back of the van while it was parked in the Chinatown neighborhood, said Assistant State's Attorney Tom Hardman. After they began to watch a movie, North pinned the woman down and sexually assaulted her, Hardman said.
As soon as the woman was able to get out of the van, she called a friend and told her of the rape, prosecutors said. The friend contacted Chicago police.
The woman's mother later drove her to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn. The woman suffered redness to her lower abdomen and a bruise to her cervix, according to Hardman.
North was arrested in the central Illinois city of Bloomington on Monday. He was convicted last month of possession of a controlled substance and sentenced to 2 years of probation, Hardman said.
Judge Maria Kuriakos Ciesil set bail for North at $30,000. If he is released, the judge forbade him from leaving Cook County and having any contact with the alleged victim.
"I will not leave Cook County for any reason whatsoever," North, who was wearing a pink shirt, jeans and lime green tennis shoes, told the judge.
sschmadeke@tribpub.com
