A man is facing charges for allegedly groping a nanny and dragging her to the ground while she pushed a one-year-old child in a stroller in the South Loop, sending the stroller rolling toward nearby traffic.
The attack happened just before 9 a.m. on June 16 in the 1600 block of South Michigan Avenue, police said. A 53-year-old woman working as a nanny was pushing the child’s stroller northbound when a stranger, later identified as 29-year-old Brandon Henderson, tugged on her sweatshirt sleeve, according to prosecutors. The woman ignored him and kept walking.
Moments later, Henderson approached her from behind, put one arm around her shoulder and neck, and reached his other hand between her legs while pressing his face near her neck, a detention filing said. He pulled her to the ground, causing her to lose her grip on the stroller, which rolled toward the traffic lanes of Michigan Avenue, according to the filing.
The woman began screaming for help and kicking at Henderson to get him off her. Bystanders intervened, including one who yelled at Henderson from a sixth-floor apartment window, according to prosecutors. Henderson allegedly got off the woman and fled through an alley.
Bystanders flagged down a squad car, and officers searched the area. They found Henderson nearby, matching a clothing description provided by witnesses, according to police. He was arrested after the nanny identified him as her attacker, police said.
The woman was not seriously injured and declined medical attention, but she was “extremely frightened,” the detention filing stated. It said the child was not physically harmed, either.
Judge D’Anthony Thedford detained Henderson on charges of criminal sexual abuse by force and aggravated battery in a public place, according to court records.
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