Cook County Jail inmate charged with sex assault dies at Stroger Hospital

A 63-year-old man who was being held at the Cook County Jail on sexual assault charges died at Stroger Hospital Thursday afternoon.

Andrew Gayles, of the 2700 block of West 25th Street, was pronounced dead at 6:30 p.m., the Cook County medical examiner’s office said. An autopsy to determine the cause and manner of his death is scheduled for Friday.

He was at Stroger Hospital being treated for cirrhosis of the liver at the time, Cook County sheriff’s office spokeswoman Sophia Ansari said.

Gayles was arrested Jan. 17, 2013, after officers were called about a sexual assault at a home in the 1800 block of South Kedzie, police said at the time. When they arrived, officers heard a female voice screaming for help and forced entry into the home.

The officers unlocked the door to the bedroom from which the screams were coming and saw Gayles on the bed on top of the victim, punching her in the head, police said.

He was taken into custody on signed complaints from the victim, who was an acquaintance of his, and charged with unlawful restraint, aggravated criminal sexual assault and battery, police said.

Gayles had been held at the Cook County Jail on a $750,000 bond since his arrest, Ansari said. He was also being held without bond for a February conviction for possession of a controlled substance.