The man accused of attacking and sexually assaulting a woman at a Northwest Side forest preserve on May 23 has been linked to the crime by DNA evidence that prosecutors say places him at the scene at odds of 14 septillion to one.
That was one of several new details that emerged Wednesday as the accused, 45-year-old John Lang, made his first court appearance at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse at 26th and California.
During the hearing, prosecutors said a 26-year-old homeless woman who lives in the preserves was getting dressed outside her tent when Lang approached her. She had never seen him before. Lang allegedly began groping the woman and, as she turned away, placed her in a headlock so tight she was unable to breathe, and she lost consciousness.
When the woman regained consciousness, she realized she had been sexually assaulted, and she sought help at a nearby Target store. Prosecutors said she was taken to a hospital, where biological evidence was collected, and she was treated for scrapes and scratches to her back and elbow.
A police sketch artist worked with the victim to create an image of the assailant, and Lang was arrested four days later after a Cook County Sheriff’s police officer spotted him in LaBagh Woods, according to prosecutors.
Just two days later, the Illinois State Police Crime Lab reported a DNA hit linking Lang to the biological evidence with a 1-in-14 septillion match, which is 14 followed by 24 zeroes, prosecutors alleged.
Lang has a felony record that includes a 2012 conviction for armed violence and vehicular hijacking, for which he served 48 months in the Illinois Department of Corrections. He also has prior convictions for communicating with a witness and other offenses dating back to 2001.
Judge Luciano Panici, Jr. detained Lang, who is charged with aggravated criminal sexual assault causing bodily harm and aggravated battery by strangling.
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