Charges have been filed against a man who Chicago police say has been sexually assaulting women while passing them on a motorized skateboard in the downtown area this summer.
Victor Manuel-Reyes, 36, is charged with criminal sexual assault by force, two counts of criminal sexual abuse causing bodily harm, and four counts of aggravated battery in a public place. He is due in bond court Sunday afternoon. More details about the alleged crimes and how police identified Manuel-Reyes might come out during that hearing.
Chicago police said Manuel-Reyes was arrested at 11:29 a.m. Friday in the 500 block of East Illinois Street. That’s near the Lakefront Trail where some women said the skateboarder assaulted them. Since CPD released surveillance photos of the suspect last Saturday, people have said they saw him boarding through the Ohio Street pedestrian tunnel to enter Streeterville.
According to Chicago police, Manuel-Reyes is charged with two incidents, one that occurred around 10:15 a.m. on June 1 in the 400 block of West Lake Street and another in the 1100 block of South State Street around 10:15 a.m. on August 6. He lives in the 1300 block of West 19th Street, police said.
On social media, many other women have reported being groped, smacked, and sexually assaulted by a man riding a motorized skateboard in the downtown area. Some of them shared images of the suspect on NextDoor.
“Never thought it would happen to me, too,” a woman told CWBChicago in an email last week, just hours before the man struck again. “I was walking back from work, got to Michigan and Roosevelt, and had a hard slap on my butt with a disgusting whisper in my ear from the same man on his electric skateboard.”
She said the man attacked her near Roosevelt and Michigan around 5 p.m. Thursday, August 4. Other women reported that he touched them in the downtown area the same day.
“I am so angry that I did not scream or run after him,” the woman continued. “I was in shock at the moment, and the only reflex I had was to take pics of him as he kept skating on Michigan.”
“I did report to the police, and [I am] waiting for a call from the investigator, but this man deserves to be publicly shamed for what he does to women on an almost daily basis on South Michigan Avenue, Museum Campus, and South Loop.”
“He didn’t care that there were witnesses,” one person posted. “He seems to slow down as he’s approaching his targets and grabs very aggressively and just keeps going.”
“The first girl he grabbed was young and in tears, and, while we were consoling her, he reappeared, and that’s when we chased.”
CWBChicago will post an updated story after Manuel-Reyes appears in bond court.
