Woman Sexually Assaulted On Blue Line Train
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A woman was sexually assaulted on a CTA Blue Line train around 10 a.m. Monday.
The victim got on the Blue Line in the Loop, then jumped off the El before her stop in Forest Park in an attempt to get away from the man who assaulted her.
"The thought that was going through my head was 'I just want this guy off me. Just hurry up and get to the next stop so I can get off,'" the woman recalled.
The woman, who wants to remain anonymous, says she was not sure what to do when a man got on the El train at the Pulaski stop, followed her through the car, and then cornered her near the train's doors.
"He had his arms blocking me from moving and he was rubbing his genitals against me," the woman recalled.
Feeling trapped and waiting for the next stop, she says she signaled to another woman who confronted the man; but when the doors opened at Cicero, she says the man followed her off the train.
"I wasn't really afraid until I got off the platform and he followed me and I realized this guy's looking for something. That's when I told the girl I was going to call the police," she said.
The woman claims another man on the platform stepped between the two and gave her his phone to call police. That is when the attacker ran away.
"There was no CTA security," the victim said.
A CTA spokesperson says other than one conductor, there are not any other CTA employees on any trains. He said Chicago Transit officers handle security, but pointed to the 33,000 cameras system-wide as tools that help to deter crime.
"The cameras are great and all, but that's after the fact, in my opinion," the victim said.
Chicago Police have not said if security cameras captured the man's image, but the victim says after she filed her initial report Monday morning, detectives followed up with her in the afternoon.
