CHICAGO — A Chicago man accused of entering another apartment in his building and sexually abusing two women who were sleeping inside has been sentenced to probation, according to court records.
The women, ages 23 and 25, stayed with relatives in the 1100 block of North Wells for Easter weekend 2021. They went out for dinner and drinks with their hosts on the night before Easter but realized that they didn’t have the keys to their unit when they returned, prosecutors said.
When they stopped by the front desk for help, another resident of the building, Ian Edgerle, overheard their conversation with the attendant and took the stairs to their floor, officials said during his initial bail hearing.
Edgerle was able to get into their unit later because the door was not properly closed, officials said.
Prosecutors said he first laid down next to the younger woman as she slept on an air mattress in the living room and began spooning and groping her. She repeatedly asked Edgerle to stop, but he declined and told her to turn around so he could see her face as he kissed her, officials said.
At one point, Edgerle allegedly told the woman his name was Ian and the floor he lived on.
Officials said he later moved to the couch, where he spooned with the other woman and touched her leg. The first victim told him to leave her alone, and he returned to the air mattress.
When Edgerle left around 6 a.m., the first victim told her hosts about what happened, and they called the police.
Police asked building managers if anyone named Ian lived in the building, and they directed him to Edgerle.
Edgerle, now 30 and living in Lincoln Park, pleaded guilty last week to aggravated criminal sexual abuse during the commission of a felony before Judge William Hooks. In exchange for the guilty plea, prosecutors dropped eight additional felonies, including home invasion and multiple counts of residential burglary and aggravated criminal sexual abuse, according to court records.
Hooks sentenced Edgerle to two years of sex offender probation and ordered him to stay on electronic monitoring for now. If Edgerle complies with his probation requirements, the monitoring will be removed on November 2, Hooks ruled.
In 2016, Edgerle was arrested in Michigan after he went into a house, got into bed with a woman, and rubbed her back and arm, prosecutors said after he was arrested in Chicago. The case resulted in deferred prosecution. Like the Chicago victims, the Michigan woman told authorities that she had never seen him before.