A South Side man followed a woman when she got on the Blue Line and rode home to the Wicker Park neighborhood, then beat her and tried to sexually assault her over the weekend.
Deonta Terry, 27, turned himself in at the Area Central police station, 5101 S. Wentworth Ave., early Wednesday, police said. Terry’s mother convinced him to turn himself in after police issued a surveillance photo of the person suspected of attacking the 23-year-old woman early Sunday and she saw the photos, prosecutors said.
Terry, of the 6300 block of South Ellis Avenue in Woodlawn, was ordered held without bail in a hearing midday Friday at the Leighton Criminal Courts building, according to court records.
The victim and Terry don’t know each other, said Tandra Simonton, a spokeswoman for the Cook County state’s attorney’s office. About 3:15 a.m. Sunday, Terry was caught on surveillance video when he followed the woman as she got on the Blue Line and headed home from work, according to prosecutors.
The woman got off the train and left the station at 1558 N. Damen Ave. around 3:30 a.m. Sunday, according to police. Terry was captured on video following her from the station, and video from a nearby business showed him him following her on North Avenue, prosecutors said. He followed several blocks to the 1600 block of North Bell Avenue in Bucktown, according to police.
Video from a private building again caught Terry following the woman just before he dragged her to a gangway, prosecutors said. The woman struggled with Terry and begged him to stop, but he hit her and choked her, pushing her up against a wall and taking her clothes off, prosecutors said.
At some point, the woman passed out and Terry stole her purse and clothes, prosecutors said.
The woman woke up and began crying for help, and witnesses who responded gave her a jacket and called police, prosecutors said.
On Tuesday, police released photos of the person who attacked the woman, and after his mother saw the photos, Terry turned himself in to police early Wednesday, prosecutors said. On Thursday, police showed the victim a series of photographs and the victim picked out a photograph of Terry, identifying him from among a group of other men’s photos, prosecutors said.
Terry is charged with felony robbery, kidnapping wth force or threat of force, aggravated battery/strangulation and attempted criminal sexual assault with force, according to police.
Terry, who has no prior criminal record, is due back in court Dec. 20, according to prosecutors and court records.