Chicago — Prosecutors charged a Chicago man on Thursday with sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl aboard a Blue Line train on the Northwest Side last summer. CTA surveillance cameras captured the entire incident.
During a bond hearing Thursday afternoon, prosecutor Anne McCord said the accused man, Deandre Taylor, 32, approached the girl on the train early on August 7, commented on her appearance, and told her he wanted to have sex with her.
The girl, who didn’t know Taylor, got off the train and returned a few hours later. Taylor was still on the train when she returned, according to McCord. He entered her train car, resumed his conversation with her, and briefly took her phone. Taylor allegedly pursued the girl, touching her arms and legs as she moved around the car to avoid him.
Upon cornering the girl in a seat near the exit, Taylor told her she was going to give him oral sex, according to McCord. He allegedly dropped his pants, grabbed the girl’s hair, and forced her mouth to his genitals. Some of the girl’s hair was pulled out by the force of Taylor’s actions, McCord said.
The teen ended the attack by spraying Taylor with mace. She escaped at the Jefferson Park station and sought help from CTA employees.
Police spoke with the girl at the station, then went to the platform, where Taylor allegedly fought with them for several minutes before being subdued. By the time the officers had Taylor in custody, the girl had left the scene, McCord said. She contacted the police two days later and filed a report.
Taylor has been in the Cook County jail since August 8, unable to raise a $7,500 bail deposit on the felony resisting charges that were filed against him for allegedly fighting the cops.
On Thursday, prosecutors charged him with criminal sexual assault and aggravated battery. During the bail hearing, his public defender said he has two children, whom he supported by working as a janitor. Since being jailed, Taylor has been participating in job readiness programs, the lawyer said.
Judge David Kelly ordered Taylor to pay a $15,000 bail deposit to be released on electronic monitoring in the sexual assault case. That is on top of the $7,500 payment required for the earlier charges.
