A man has been charged with sexually abusing and robbing another man early Tuesday in the Lake View neighborhood on the North Side.
Parnell Barners, 53, is accused of “attempting to force himself in a sexual manner” on a 27-year-old man at 2:08 a.m. in the 800 block of West Waveland, according to a statement form Chicago police. He then took the man’s cellphone and ran away.
Barners, who lives in Uptown, was arrested about two hours later in the 1200 block of North Clark in Lincoln Park, police said. He was charged with a felony counts of robbery and criminal sexual abuse.
Barners began the attack by making sexual comments to the man as he walked by, according to Assistant State’s Attorney Daniel Crone. When the man told him he wasn’t interested, Barners grabbed the man and pulled him into a doorway in the block. He forced the man to touch his penis and then began trying to pull down the man’s pants while holding him in a chokehold.
Crone said the man fought with Barners by scratching at his eyes and Barners ran off with the man’s cellphone.
The phone was tracked to a CTA station, where Barners was found with injuries matching the man’s description, Crone said. The phone was found on another person at the station, who identified Barners as the person who had just sold it to him.
Barners made comments during a hearing Wednesday at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse, which led Judge David Navarro to warn him against speaking during the hearing. Navarro also told Barnes he could take “his whole demeanor in court” into consideration when deciding whether or not to give him bail.
Barners was ordered held without bail and walked back into a holding area for detainees at the courthouse before his hearing ended. His next court date was scheduled for Sept. 18.