The man accused of sexually assaulting a woman in an Old Town gangway and then battering a cop who tried to arrest him reached a plea deal with prosecutors.
The alleged victim was walking in the 200 block of West Evergreen when a man threatened her with a knife and forced her into a passageway where he sexually assaulted her around 11:30 p.m. on May 29, 2019, police said.
A neighbor called 911 after hearing the woman scream. Police arrived quickly enough to see Floyd Stewart running through a nearby alley. He was taken into custody in the 300 block of West Schiller after a brief foot chase. Police said they recovered a knife, and the victim identified him as the attacker.
One police officer suffered minor injuries while taking Stewart into custody. Stewart was on parole for narcotics and armed robbery at the time.
Stewart, 36, agreed to plead guilty to aggravated battery of a police officer in exchange for a seven-year prison sentence. Prosecutors then dropped charges of aggravated criminal sexual assault while armed with a weapon, armed kidnapping, and other felonies.
His previous prison sentences include 18 months for narcotics in 2017; 14 years for armed robbery in 2009; 3 years for being a felon in possession of a firearm in 2005; and four earlier terms for narcotics.
He will receive the state’s standard 50% sentence reduction for good behavior in prison and credit for the time he spent in Cook County jail. His parole date is now set for November 18, 2022.
Judge Vincent Gaughan oversaw the case.