The man now charged with a string of sexual assaults was arrested after one alleged victim spotted him on a South Side street and summoned police, prosecutors said Monday.
The 16-year-old girl recognized her alleged attacker Saturday, a week after she said she was sexually assaulted at knifepoint while waiting for a bus, prosecutors said.
Within a day, Quantrell Blackman, 21, was charged with assaulting not only the 16-year-old but also three other girls or young women. Two of the victims were attacked on their way to school.
Blackman was denied bail Monday after prosecutors accused him of the string of attacks that occurred from Jan. 20 to March 11.
Assistant State’s Atty. Jake Rubinstein said all of the victims, ranging in age from 11 to 21, identified Blackman in a lineup.
Blackman allegedly accosted them on streets, threatened them with knives or other sharp objects, forced them into alleys and then sexually assaulted them, Rubinstein said. In all except one incident, Blackman allegedly also demanded cash or jewelry.
One of the incidents involved an 11-year-old girl attacked in the 3100 block of West 83rd Place while she was on her way to Carroll School on Feb. 14, according to police. They said the next day, a 15-year-old girl was assaulted while walking in the 7900 block of South Perry Avenue on her way to Partee School.
The Chicago Public Schools system offered a $3,000 reward last month for tips in those cases. But schools spokesman Jeff Burdick said Monday the reward, if warranted, would come only after a conviction.
Blackman’s family could not be reached Monday night.
According to Assistant Public Defender Tim Fabing, Blackman left high school after 10th grade but later obtained a general equivalency diploma.
Blackman has been on parole since October, according to Illinois Department of Corrections records. He had been sentenced to 5 years in prison after pleading guilty to a robbery and an attempted robbery in 1996, according to Cook County court records.