A man accused of being one of the “Loop Punchers” — a group of unrelated men known for randomly attacking women on Chicago’s streets — is now charged with assaulting two more victims. William Livingston, 32, is already in custody awaiting trial for allegedly attacking and seriously injuring a woman in the Loop on August 19. Police say he has a long history of similar assaults.
According to Chicago police, investigators recently linked Livingston to two additional random attacks that occurred on June 12 in the 2700 block of North Clark Street, where a 40-year-old woman and a 29-year-old woman were both targeted. Prosecutors have charged him with two counts of aggravated battery in a public place.
Livingston is expected to make his first court appearance on the new charges Thursday afternoon at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse.
Around 5:15 p.m. on August 19, Kathleen Miles of Lake Villa and a friend were walking in the 200 block of West Washington Street, heading toward a train station, when Livingston allegedly forced his way between them and punched Miles in the face, according to a Chicago police report. The blow knocked her unconscious, leaving her with serious facial fractures and a severe concussion, her daughter, Dionna Wolf, said.
Following a freedom of information request by CWBChicago, the city initially refused to release video of the assault. Officials later relented under pressure from the Illinois Attorney General’s Office, allowing the public to see the attack for the first time. The footage shows Livingston walking behind the two women before abruptly striking Miles and sending her collapsing to the pavement as witnesses rush to help.
Chicago Fire Department medics arrived more than five minutes after the attack. Police officers followed shortly after and took Livingston into custody.
Records show Livingston has been accused of similar unprovoked attacks for years. In August 2023, he was arrested for elbowing a 27-year-old woman in the face along the Magnificent Mile. Although police took him into custody, prosecutors released him, and state prison officials did not immediately revoke his parole. He was briefly returned to prison 10 days later but was released yet again in January 2024.
Police say he resumed attacking women months later. On August 14, 2024, officers saw him punch a woman near Chicago Avenue and Wells Street after a bystander flagged him down. Prosecutors charged him only with misdemeanor reckless conduct, and he was released the next day. Less than two weeks later, he struck a 15-year-old girl on North Michigan Avenue. He pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors and received a 100-day sentence from Judge Donald Panarese Jr.
Livingston’s record stretches back to at least 2017, when police say he assaulted multiple women and two police officers in separate incidents. He pleaded guilty to burglary and aggravated battery of a peace officer and was sentenced to probation. In 2022, he was accused of punching at least four women within minutes in the South Loop, including a DePaul University student, but again faced minimal consequences.
While random assaults are not uncommon in Chicago, the August 19 video’s release has intensified public scrutiny of how repeat violent offenders like Livingston continue to cycle through the system and return to city streets.
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