A man charged in February with randomly attacking four women in the Loop on a Tuesday afternoon is facing one more felony charge after another woman recognized him as the person who punched her in the face downtown.
The case provides an interesting example of how differently Cook County judges handle violent crimes brought before them for bail hearings.
After prosecutors charged William Livingston with four counts of aggravated battery and two counts of attempted robbery in February, Judge Barbara Dawkins set his bail at $15,000 — meaning he would need to post a $1,500 deposit to get out of jail on electronic monitoring.
On Wednesday, Judge Susana Ortiz handled the bail hearing for the new charge, a single count of aggravated battery. For that one charge, she ordered him to pay ten times the amount Dawkins set for six felonies in February. Ortiz also said he must go onto electronic monitoring if he gets out of jail.
Livingston, who has a history of randomly attacking people, was arrested on February 8 after he allegedly punched several women in their faces and robbed two of them as he made his way around the Loop.
The assaults made the news, and word of Livingston’s arrest made its way to a 46-year-old woman who had been similarly attacked in the Loop around the same time, prosecutors said.
The woman was walking near the Daley Center when Livingston walked up and punched her one time in the face, causing her to fall to the ground, Assistant State’s Attorney Loukas Kalliantasis said Wednesday.
Livingston strolled away, and the woman went into the Daley Center to get help. She also filed a police report.
After hearing about Livingston’s arrest, the woman contacted Chicago police and later identified him in a photo line-up, Kalliantasis said.
Sheriff’s records show he has remained in jail since his February bail hearing.
Loop spree
The February assaults began around noon on the 700 block of South State when Livingston tugged on a 30-year-old woman’s backpack as she prepared to cross the street, according to police and prosecutors.
When the woman turned around, Livingston allegedly punched her in the face, causing her to fall to the ground.
A few minutes later, Livingston punched a 25-year-old woman in the jaw as she smoked near Wabash and Van Buren, causing her headphones to fall to the ground, prosecutors and police said. He reportedly picked up her headphones but gave them back after she gave him her cigarette.
According to the allegations, the woman called 911 and followed Livingston to Wabash and Jackson where she saw the third attack unfold. As she watched, Livingston reached into a 25-year-old woman’s coat pocket and then punched the victim in the face three times, prosecutors said.
She fell to the ground, and Livingston allegedly walked away. DePaul University said in a public safety bulletin that the victim is a student at the school.
While the second victim stopped to help the third victim, Livingston pulled a hat off a 27-year-old woman’s head near Wabash and Monroe, then punched her in the neck and face when she yelled for him to give it back, according to prosecutors. He then allegedly spat on a 49-year-old woman who witnessed the incident.
Police officers arrested Livingston near State and Monroe around 12:30 p.m., and the victims and witnesses identified him as the attacker, prosecutors said.
In 2017, Livingston was accused of randomly attacking two women in separate attacks months apart, including a Columbia College student who was leaving school in the Loop, according to court records. Both cases were dropped.
The 20-year-old Columbia student told police she was leaving a school building as Livingston approached on the 1100 block of South Wabash on April 26, 2017, a CPD report said. She told officers she thought Livingston would walk past her, but he instead punched her in the face, the woman alleged.
Cops arrested Livingston nearby, and he was charged with simple battery. Then, he went missing until police picked him up on a warrant in the case a few weeks later.
While he was in the police station holding cell, Livingston grabbed a lock-up attendant by the chest and kicked him in the groin, police alleged. He was charged with simple battery for the attack.
According to court records, prosecutors dropped charges in the Columbia student attack 12 days later when she failed to appear in court. They also dropped charges in the lock-up incident.
A few months later, on December 16, 2017, Livingston repeatedly punched a 29-year-old woman in the face, struck her in the stomach, and kicked her in the leg several times near the 95th Street Red Line station, according to allegations in another CPD report.
The alleged attack, which reportedly came without warning, resulted in another misdemeanor battery charge. Prosecutors dropped the case ten months later, court records show.
Before they did, Livingston was arrested again in the Loop. This time he allegedly went behind the security desk of an apartment building on the 1000 block of South State and stole two phones.
Cops arrested him nearby. Officers alleged that he spat in one cop’s face before they took him in. He allegedly spat in another cop’s eye at the station.
Livingston pleaded guilty to burglary and aggravated battery of a peace officer and received a sentence of 24 months probation from Judge Michael McHale.
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