Man accused of posing as art student, taking lewd photos, sexually abusing woman in Chicago
A Chicago man is facing multiple charges for several bizarre and disturbing allegations, accused of posing as an art student and asking women to pose topless for a school project, and sexually abusing some of those women.
Gabriel Wilkins, 41, is charged with criminal sexual abuse and public indecency. He is also charged with flashing on the CTA Brown Line. He was ordered detained until trial in Cook County Criminal Court at his first court appearance last week.
The Cook County State's Attorney's Office said they are investigating six similar cases of Wilkins posing as an art student in order to sexually abuse unsuspecting women.
Prosecutors said TikTok videos accusing Wilkins of trying to scam women into posing topless and groping them convinced several women to come forward and report that they, too, had been abused.
On July 5, 2025, two women, ages 21 and 28, were out drinking on North Halsted Street when Wilkins came up to them outside and introduced himself as "David," according to prosecutors Wilkins did not know the women, prosecutors said.
Wilkins told the young women he was an art student who needed help with a photography project, prosecutors said. He asked if he could take pictures of the 28-year-old woman's breasts, and the woman agreed, prosecutors said.
Wilkins moved the two women away from the street under the guise of giving the 28-year-old woman privacy, prosecutors said. He went on to take several pictures of the woman's breasts, claiming he was not capturing her face, prosecutors said.
Wilkins then asked the younger woman to use her phone to take photos of him together with the 28-year-old woman, prosecutors said. The 28-year-old woman backed away as Wilkins approached prosecutors said, and then he exposed himself and sexually abused her.
The woman's friend grabbed her and the two of them ran to the nearby CTA Red Line to escape and texted a friend about the assault, prosecutors said.
The victim in the case did not report the incident until Jan. 17, 2026, six months later, after finding out through a TikTok video about more women who had been similarly victimized, prosecutors said. The woman contacted other victims, and found photos of Wilkins in online threads, prosecutors said.
The woman learned Wilkins' name from a neighbor in his building whom Wilkins with whom similarly tried to make contact, prosecutors said.
Wilkins is also charged in an additional case for which a community alert was recently issued. Prosecutors said on April 13, he was on a Chicago Transit Authority Brown Line train seated across from a woman, who saw him take out his phone and begin recording her on video while performing a lewd act.
He got off the train at the Fullerton stop, and the woman reported the incident to police the same day, prosecutors said.
Both victims identified Wilkins in a photo array, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said there are six other active investigations and similar incidents, though Wilkins has not been charged in any of them yet. They accusations also involve sexual abuse and photographing women's naked breasts, and occurred between August 2025 and January 2026. In one reported incident, a woman accused Wilkins of hitting her and refusing to stop during a previously consensual sexual encounter, prosecutors said.
Most of the women reported the incidents in January of this year, though one other reported the incident the same day, prosecutors said. It was not immediately clear if and when more charges would be filed.
Another woman, who has asked to remain anonymous, told CBS News Chicago that, during Pride Month last June, Wilkins approached her and convinced her to pose for him on North Halsted Street.
"He told us that he was working on a project for the Art Institute," she said. "Had I had not been, you know, having a fun night drinking, I don't think I would have been, you know, so up for the task."
She did not file a police report, and Wilkins has not been charged in connection with her allegations, but she said she also learned of other victims from social media.
"When I came across the social media posts, I was like, 'Okay, wow, this has been going on for a while. This guy's just been getting away with it,'" she said.
Prosecutors said Wilkins has no prior arrests, but the six open investigations could lead to additional charges.