Man charged with fondling woman on CTA bus, trying to abduct her

A man has been charged with fondling a woman on a CTA bus last winter, then following her off and trying to drag her into an empty lot in the West Side North Lawndale neighborhood, according to police.

Christopher Gates of the Humboldt Park neighborhood has been charged with one count of aggravated battery of a transit passenger, and one count of unlawful restraint, both felonies, according to Chicago Police.

Police said Gates was a passenger on a bus on Feb. 3 when he placed his hand on the buttocks of a 21-year-old woman. The victim got off the bus at the next stop, but Gates followed her, “grabbed her from behind and attempted to pull her into an empty lot on the 3600 block of West Ogden,” a statement from police said.

The woman was able to get away without injury and called police. Gates was “positively identified” as the offender and was taken into custody Tuesday.

In court Wednesday, he was ordered held on a $900,000 bond and his next court date was set for June 14, according to the Cook County sheriff’s office.