Man gets 46 years for 2012 sexual assault of pregnant woman

A man has been sentenced to 46 years in prison for sexually assaulting a pregnant woman on the West Side in 2012.

Henry Johnson, 51, was convicted of aggravated kidnapping, aggravated criminal sexual assault and armed robbery, according to the Cook County state’s attorney’s office.

About 5 a.m. May 28, 2012, the four-months-pregnant woman was walking to a friend’s house near Madison and Kilbourn to pick up her children, prosecutors said.

Johnson pulled up in a green minivan, got out, walked up to the woman and put a sharp object against her back and ordered her into the van, prosecutors said.

Once she was in the van, Johnson brandished a knife and threatened to kill the woman as he drove to a secluded area in the 4600 block of West Van Buren, prosecutors said. He parked the van under trees, stole the woman’s money and sexually assaulted her.

During the assault, the woman saw an unlocked door and escaped, partially clothed and without her shoes, purse and cellphone, prosecutors said. She ran to a senior housing complex across the street, screaming for help and banging on doors and windows until security called police.

She was taken to a hospital for treatment, prosecutors said.

Two weeks later, another woman was sexually assaulted in the same neighborhood, prosecutors said.

A man was driving in the 4600 block of West Van Buren when he saw a woman running from a green minivan with her clothing in disarray, prosecutors said. The man let the woman in his vehicle and chased the van for several miles. He called police and reported the van’s license plate, but for safety reasons police ordered the man to stop the chase.

Officers took a report from the victim, who said that Johnson had followed her from a party and threatened her with a knife to get her into the van. While he was assaulting her, she forcefully twisted his genitals and escaped.

Johnson was arrested about an hour later, double parked in front of his house with the van still running, prosecutors said. He had both of the women’s cellphones on him.

Judge Dominica Stevenson handed down the 46-year sentence.