A Venezuelan migrant has been arrested and charged with sexually assaulting a woman on the campus of the University of Illinois Chicago.
Elvis Hernandez-Pernalete, who also goes by Luis Guevara, has been charged with a March 16 assault on the campus. He allegedly followed a woman who got off a train at the UIC-Halsted Blue Line stop, then grabbed her from behind and dragged her to as secluded location, according to the UIC Police investigators, WFLD-TV reported.
Officials accused the suspect of assaulting the victim, stealing her personal items, and leaving the scene, the police report says.
Hernandez-Pernalete is accused of perpetrating a second assault on another woman who was followed and assaulted after getting off the train. Hernandez-Pernalete was charged with criminal sexual abuse, aggravated battery, robbery, and attempted robbery in that case, as well.
On top of the two assaults, criminal sexual abuse, aggravated battery, robbery, and attempted robbery, the man is also accused of stealing from a retail store in the area.
Officials say Hernandez-Pernalete was seen taking clothing off the racks and stuffing them into a backpack at the T.J. Maxx store at 11 N. State St.
The store says that the cost of the stolen items amounted to $136.93.
On March 21, a Cook County judge denied pre-trial release for Hernandez-Pernalete. The judge cited the suspect’s “pattern of attacking victims from trains.”
Arrests of Venezuelans are up 11,300 percent in Chicago since 2021. In 2021, for instance, only six Venezuelans were arrested in the Windy City. In 2022 that number soared to 700.
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