Chicago prosecutors charged a man on Wednesday with chaining and raping a woman twice in the attic of an abandoned home over the course of four days.
Joel Cammon, 44, of Blue Island, Illinois, was arrested on Tuesday in Alsip, Illinois, and was charged with one felony count of aggravated kidnapping that inflicted harm and one felony count of aggravated criminal sexual assault, according to the Chicago Police Department (CPD). A judge denied Cammon bail in a court hearing on Wednesday, CWB Chicago reported.
The alleged crime took place in an abandoned home on 11900 S. Eggleston (5th District) in Chicago, where Cammon, who reportedly worked as a “quasi-security guard” within the area, met the woman on May 18 to have sex in the dilapidated home, according to Assistant State’s Attorney Danny Hanichak during the suspect’s bail hearing.
After an argument ensued between the two, Hanichak says Cammon handcuffed the 36-year-old homeless woman and dragged her to the attic, cuffing her right leg to the wall, Hanichak said. Cammon is accused of sexually assaulting the woman before taking off, leaving the 36-year-old chained and alone for the night. The woman repeatedly hit the walls and audibly cried for help, but no one came to rescue her.
“Cammon returned the next day and raped her again while she was handcuffed and chained to the wall, according to Hanichak,” CWB Chicago reported. “The woman begged him to stop and pleaded to be let go, but Cammon left her alone again.”
The woman was left chained to the home for two more days as she continued to yell and hit the walls for help. Fortunately, a Good Samaritan named Antoine Dobine was walking by the house on May 21 and heard her banging on the walls, whereupon he proceeded to call the police, as Breitbart News reported last month.
Dobine, also known as “D-ice,” recorded a Facebook Live stream of the police response to the dilapidated home. Per Breitbart News:
In the clip, an officer made his way to the back of the property carrying bolt cutters. “She’s handcuffed and chained to a wall,” he told bystanders.
Moments later, sirens were heard as another police vehicle arrived at the scene.
“I called the police immediately,” Dobine told NBC 5. “I waited for them to come, and when police got here they discovered there was a young lady in there, handcuffed and chained.”
“He could have ignored me but he heard me and he helped me,” the woman told WGN 9. “I’m just blessed. I’m truly blessed.”
Dobine told Fox 32 in an interview later that many of the properties on the block were abandoned, while neighbors suspect that the home where the woman was held had been abandoned for over 30 years.
You can follow Ethan Letkeman on Twitter at @EthanLetkeman.