Police: DePaul campus sexual assault was 3rd on North Side this month

A sexual assault that happened early Thursday on DePaul University’s Lincoln Park campus was the third of similar North Side incidents this month, Chicago Police said.

In each incident, a female walking alone to her North Side home in the early morning hours was approached from behind by an unknown male, according to a community alert from Area Central detectives.

The attacks happened:

about 1:40 a.m. Aug. 20 in the 900 block of West Belden;

about 12:25 a.m. Aug. 15 in the 100 block of West Goethe; and

about 3:45 a.m. in the 1900 block of North Bissell.

In the Aug. 9 and Aug. 20 incidents, the suspect grabbed the female and assaulted her, police said. On Aug. 15, the victim was able to fight off the attacker.

In the two most recent attacks — including the incident onDePaul University’s campus — the female was in the entryway of her home, police said. The attacker ran away after each incident.

At DePaul University, the 21-year-old woman was knocked to the ground, then the male sexually assaulted her, police said. She was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center in good condition.

The suspect in all three attacks is described as a male with olive skin, possibly a white Hispanic, between 25 and 45 years old, standing between 5-feet-5 and 5-feet-9 and weighing between 160 and 180 pounds, police said. He has dark-colored short hair and was last seen wearing a dark-colored and white horizontally striped short sleeved polo shirt and jeans cuffed at the bottom.

Anyone with information on the attacks is asked to contact police at (312) 747-8380.