CHICAGO — Prosecutors have charged a Chicago man with sexually abusing a woman at the UIC-Halsted Blue Line station.
The 28-year-old woman told police she was walking on the platform when a man came up behind her around 8:45 a.m. on July 1, according to a CPD report. He grabbed her private area with both hands while pushing her up the ramp at one end of the platform, the report said.
She managed to escape by punching him in the face. When he tried to catch up with her again, the woman gave him a blast of pepper spray, causing him to run away.
The woman called the police and gave them a description of the offender. Officers arrested James Blue, 42, a few minutes later in the 700 block of West Van Buren.
He is charged with criminal sexual abuse by force and aggravated battery in a public place. Judge David Kelly ordered him to pay a $5,000 bail deposit to be released on electronic monitoring. Blue remains jailed as of Saturday evening.
Court records show he was convicted of felony aggravated battery in a public place in 2019 and aggravated battery of a peace officer in 2021. He received probation in 2019 and a three-year prison sentence for the more recent case.
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