 |
| Rene Chandler | CPD |
A Near South Side man is accused of beating and robbing a woman while he was free on bail awaiting trial on two separate charges of sexually assaulting women in the Streeterville and River North neighborhoods.
Prosecutors say a woman identified 30-year-old Renee Chandler in a photo line-up as the man who struck her in the head then took her phone and $640 cash as they shared an Uber in Hyde Park on Feb. 12th.
Prosecutors last August charged Chandler with sexually assaulting two women in separate attacks downtown. Both victims allegedly met the Chandler online and were attacked after meeting with him in person at high-rise condos.
In one case, Chandler is accused of texting a 26-year-old woman and inviting her to meet him in a condo in the 800 block of North La Salle on Aug. 18, 2018. When the woman arrived, Chandler began touching the victim inappropriately and threw her down on a couch and sexually assaulted her, according to charges. The victim said she was able to get away when Chandler got off of her.
When the victim awoke the next day, she reportedly felt pain in her body and she talked with a leasing agent at the building about happened. Police were called and they arrested Chandler based on her allegations.
Police learned during the arrest process that Chandler—also known as Nayron Gonzalez—was a person of interest in another sexual assault case that was reported in Streeterville on April 22, 2018.
In that incident, a 22-year-old Villa Park woman flagged down police near the 400 block of East Ohio and told officers that she met a man named “Nayron” on social media and came downtown to attend a party with him on the 20th floor of a nearby high-rise.
Chandler allegedly tried to have sex with the woman and struck her with his hands and feet when she declined. The victim was thrown against a wall and Chandler sexually assaulted her before following her out of the apartment and into the street where he struck her again, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors charged Chandler with one count of Class X felony criminal sexual assault causing bodily harm and one count of felony criminal sexual assault-consent. Judge Sophia Atcherson ordered Chandler held in lieu of $100,000 bail on each charge.
Court records show that he went home with an electronic monitoring bracelet after posting a $20,000 deposit bond on Sept 20th.
Now, Chandler is charged with an additional count of felony robbery in connection with the Hyde Park incident. He is currently being held without bail.
—————–
