An Oak Park man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for attacking a doctor near Lincoln Park High School in a crime that police and prosecutors said was an attempted sexual assault.
Keith Thomas, 38, pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated kidnapping with bodily harm in a deal that had prosecutors drop multiple counts of attempted criminal sexual assault and other felonies, court records show.
Judge Alfredo Maldonado sentenced Thomas and oversaw the case.
Around 12:25 p.m. on August 3, 2018, the 30-year-old physician was walking on the 700 block of West Armitage when a man ran up from behind, grabbed her by the neck, and dragged her into an alley behind the 1900 block of North Halsted.
The attacker slammed the woman into a wall and pulled down her lower garments in an attempt to sexually assault her, according to police, but the victim fought him off, and the assailant ran away when a passerby saw what was happening. Police said the woman was treated at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
Police collected surveillance images of the attacker and arrested Thomas about an hour later on the 400 block of West Armitage.
A judge initially ordered him held without bail on August 6, 2018, but sheriff’s office records indicate that he was placed on electronic monitoring later the same month. Under Illinois law, time spent on electronic monitoring is applied toward a defendant’s prison sentence upon conviction. Cook County authorities have not yet transferred Thomas to Illinois Department of Corrections custody, so his parole date is unavailable.
You can support CWBChicago’s start-to-finish tracking of court cases by becoming a subscriber today!