Prosecutors on Wednesday charged a Chicago man with sexually assaulting a woman in Uptown two years ago after DNA analysis linked him to the crime, prosecutors said.
Rashad Edwards, 42, was ordered held in lieu of $250,000 bail by Judge Susana Ortiz.
The woman was returning to her apartment in the 4400 block of North Magnolia after a night out with co-workers when she crossed paths with Edwards on a staircase around 2:30 a.m. on May 8, 2018, prosecutors said.
Edwards was coming down a staircase inside the apartment building as the 30-year-old victim walked up, Assistant State’s Attorney James Murphy said. The two, who did not know each other, had a brief conversation before Edwards grabbed the woman and dragged her down the stairs and out the front door, according to Murphy.
Prosecutors said Edwards pulled the woman into an alcove, threw her down, pinned her to the ground, and sexually assaulted her. At one point, he placed his hand over the woman’s neck and mouth, Murphy said.
Following the attack, Edwards allegedly told the woman he was sorry and asked her not to call the police. She did.
A sexual assault evidence kit was collected at Weiss Hospital, and doctors treated her for injuries to her hands, chin, and knees, Murphy said.
More than two years later, on June 4, 2020, investigators determined that the DNA collected at Weiss matches Edwards, according to Murphy. Police arrested Edwards on Monday. He denied all allegations against him, Murphy said.
