Cops Release Composite Sketch of Suspect In Attempted Burbank Rape

BURBANK, IL -- Burbank police released a composite sketch of a suspect who grabbed a woman last week and then tried to sexually assault her. She was able to fight him off. Police say they have no new leads but are working with other local law enforcement agencies.

At about 7:45 p.m. Oct. 10, a 24-year-old woman was walking eastbound on 81st Street, near Sayre Avenue in Burbank, when a man approached her from behind and wrapped her in a tight bear hug, Burbank Beat reported. Police said the would-be attacker threw her down on to the ground in the pouring rain and tried to pull her pants off.

The woman told ABC 7 Chicago that the man twice slammed her to the ground and eventually forced her pants off. She found her voice as she physically resisted and screamed for help. The man fled when she started screaming. The attacker was last seen running northbound from the area. Police are checking nearby surveillance cameras to see if video exists of the suspect.

>>> Burbank Woman Fights Off Attacker In Attempted Sexual Assault

“The woman fought for her life and was yelling for him to get off her,” Burbank Police Division Chief Mike Dudlo told Burbank Beat.

The man had his pants unzipped with his penis exposed during the encounter, according to Dudlo. As the traumatized woman went to nearby homes looking for help, a kind neighbor called 911 and tried to comfort her.

She was checked out at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn. Besides having muddy clothes and minor scratches, the woman was physically okay. Due to the rain, area neighbors told police they did not see or hear anything.

The suspect is described as an African-American male in his mid-20s, about 5-feet-7 -inches tall with a medium build, according to a police news release. He also had a medium-length Afro-hairstyle and was wearing a dark hoodie.

Dudlo told Patch in an email that Burbank police are working closely with other jurisdictions for further leads and similarities, but “we cannot positively say our offender is the same as the offender from incidents in other jurisdictions.”

On June 12, an elderly woman was grabbed in Palos Hills while watering flowers in her front yard. The attacker tried to pull her pants down, but the woman sprayed him with the garden hose. The man fled when the woman’s husband came running out of the house.

The next day on June 13, a man grabbed a woman by her shorts as she was walking into her residence in Worth. The man told her to “keep walking.” Worth police said the man fled when he was interrupted by another witness.

In both incidents, the Palos Hills and Worth women described their alleged attacker as an African-American male in his late teens to mid-20s, around 5-feet-8-inches tall with an Afro hairstyle. The Worth woman initially thought the man was a door-to-door salesman because he was carrying a backpack.

Anyone who remembers seeing a suspicious person or vehicle in the area of the attempted sex assault in Burbank, or has other information to share, please call the Burbank Police Department at 708-924-7300.

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