William Livingston, the man accused of randomly attacking and robbing women as they walked through the Loop on a sunny Tuesday in February, has been sentenced to five years in prison, court records show.
Livingston, 29, entered a plea of guilty to two counts of robbery, two counts of attempted robbery, and one count of aggravated battery in a public place. Judge Tyria Walton presided over the case and handed down the sentences, which will be served concurrently. Records show that Livingston will be released on May 8, 2024, after receiving the state’s 50% good behavior credit.
According to police and prosecutors, the assaults began around noon on February 8 in the 700 block of South State when Livingston tugged on a 30-year-old woman’s backpack as she prepared to cross the street.
Livingston allegedly punched the woman in the face when she turned around, 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 gave them back after she gave him her cigarette.
She called 911 and followed Livingston to Wabash and Jackson, where she saw Livingston reach into a 25-year-old woman’s coat pocket and then punch the victim in the face three times. The third victim fell to the ground, and Livingston allegedly walked away. DePaul University said in a public safety bulletin that the victim was 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 filed additional charges a few days later after a fifth woman recognized Livingston in news coverage as the man who attacked her near the Daley Center.
Livingston reached an unusually quick deal with prosecutors and pleaded guilty on May 31, less than four months after he was charged. Similar cases typically drag on for a year or longer. CWBChicago discovered the sentencing during a recent review of criminal case records.
Prosecutors dropped several other felonies in their deal with Livingston, including counts of aggravated battery and unlawful restraint.
Not the first time
Livingston has a history of similar incidents.
In 2017, he 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 in 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.
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 allegedly 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.
The alleged attack reportedly came without warning and 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 in 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 of probation from Judge Michael McHale.
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