Women say the same man is behind a string of attacks in Chicago. Why does he keep getting set free?

Two women who were punched while walking in Lincoln Park and the Loop said they were attacked by the same man. Other women also have been assaulted, and the man accused in the attacks has a long record of being arrested, prosecuted, and then quickly being set free to attack again.

Anne Kurze said she'll never forget his face.

"His eyes, his face, they're seared into my memory," she said.

She identified William Livingston to police in a lineup after she was attacked in June in the Lincoln Park neighborhood along Clark Street while walking to a dental appointment.

"He stood about this far from me, and punched me, and then kept walking north up the street," she said.

Kurze said she suffered a neck injury and concussion.

"It really hurt. I remember sitting in the emergency room and just crying, because it hurt so bad, and I was just so so scared," she said.

She hoped to hear from Chicago police about an arrest, but months went by without a word. Then, last week, she saw her accused attacker's face again all over the news for another attack.

"I saw his picture on the TV, and I had been fine, and then I just started crying, because it was really unexpected to see him on the TV," she said through tears.

In the last year alone, she is the fourth person to accuse Livingston of a physical attack. He was arrested three other times for striking two women and a 15-year-old girl; random attacks while the victims were simply walking down the street from River North to the Loop.

Police reports from those arrests show Livingston was accused of whipping a random woman, and days later injuring a teen by elbowing her in the face near Michigan Avenue and Huron Street.

The CBS News Chicago Investigators found the 32-year-old has been arrested 20 times dating back to 2012.

Kathleen Miles was his latest victim. Unlike with the attack on Kurze, Livingston was charged in her case. She said he blindsided her last month, knocking her out cold as she was on her way to the train station. She said he came "out of nowhere."

"He broke my face. He hit me with so much force," she said. "I have a break. It's just above where my jaw sets in the orbital bone, which is around the eye."

When she learned Kurze had identified Livingston as the man who attacked her two months earlier, but he was not charged in that case, even though she picked him out of a lineup, Miles said, "that's appalling to me."

Both women now share the same concerning questions.

"Why isn't the system keeping this guy off the streets? Why do I have to be in this neighborhood and be afraid?" Kurze said.

"It makes me wonder that, because there's no consequence for any of this type of behavior, that now it is getting bigger and worse," Miles said.

Livingston has not been charged in Kurze's case. Police said that investigation remains open.

The Cook County State's Attorney's office said they couldn't comment on specifics of prior incidents, but said they evaluate each case based on evidence and the law.

"While we cannot comment on the specifics of prior incidents, the CCSAO evaluates each case based on the available evidence and the applicable law, and when appropriate, seeks pre-trial detention for dangerous individuals, as was done in this case," a spokesperson said in an email. "We take our role to present the fullest possible picture for judges to make detention decisions very seriously. We review all cases for felony approval when presented by law enforcement and have a continuing obligation to assess the evidence in any charged case. This includes both the most recent matter as well as any future cases submitted for review."

In 2022, Livingston was given his longest sentence – 5 years in prison, but court records show he served less than two years before he was set free.