A 33-year-old man has been sentenced to 48 years in prison for raping and robbing a woman who was visiting Lincoln Park in June 2023. Reggie Brown was identified through public tips after Chicago police released surveillance images of the assailant to the media.
Cook County Judge Carol Howard found Brown guilty of three counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault, one count of robbery, and one count of aggravated battery by strangulation during a bench trial earlier this year. After ruling on post-trial motions, Howard recently handed down his sentence: three consecutive 15-year terms for the sexual assaults, plus a consecutive three-year term for the robbery and a concurrent three-year term for the battery—a total of 48 years.
The attack happened in the early morning hours after the 28-year-old victim, who was staying with a friend in the 1900 block of North Sheffield Avenue, returned from a night out with friends. She later told police that she got out of an Uber and saw a man standing on the sidewalk. As she began unlocking the building’s door, the man came up behind her, wrapped his arms around her neck until she felt faint, and whispered for her to stay quiet, prosecutors said.
He pushed her onto the hallway stairs and sexually assaulted her, then went through her purse and took cash. When the woman begged him not to take her ID and credit cards, he laughed, threw them at her, and ran away, prosecutors said.
The victim went straight to her friend’s apartment and told her what happened, and the friend called police.
Detectives recovered Ring and other security video from the area and released two clear images of the suspect in July 2023. The photos led to multiple tips identifying the man as Brown. Among those who recognized him were his ex-girlfriend and an Illinois Department of Children and Family Services employee, prosecutors said. Chicago police placed Brown’s home under surveillance and arrested him shortly afterward.
Court records show Brown filed an appeal last week.
He must serve at least 85% of the 48-year sentence. With good behavior, he will be eligible for release in April 2063.
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