Woman fights off offender after being groped on CTA Red Line train in the Loop
A commute downtown to work for one woman left her fuming and fighting off her attacker after getting assaulted on a CTA train on Tuesday morning.
A trip to the police station wasn't on Chiquita Brown's plan, but she walked into the 1st District to file a complaint.
"I believe I was sexually assaulted on the Red Line this morning," she said.
Brown hopped on the "L" at 63rd Street, and by the time she got to the 35th Street station, she couldn't believe what had occurred.
"It was crowded this morning, so I was standing up, and a guy passed me and groped my behind," she said.
Brown said the man didn't just touch her backside, saying the offender touched her between her legs from behind.
She said she was violated on the crowded CTA train, and her defense instincts kicked in.
"I lost it," she said. "I started hitting him, and I said, ' You don't touch me, why are you putting your hands on me?'"
She was in the first train next to the conductor, who radioed the police, but when the doors opened, the man ran off. The assault left brown furious.
The conductor described the offender as a Black male with a tan jacket, blue jeans, and short dreads.
This incident comes as the Federal Transit Administration has called for CTA to revamp its safety plan or risk losing funding. The CTA last month said it plans to increase policing hours by 75%, but Brown said she didn't see a single officer.
"Whatever their tactic is, we need results. So you can threaten to hold back money, but at the end of the day, we need results. I feel like they do need to go back to the drawing board," Brown said.
More than 400,000 people ride the CTA trains weekly, and for those like Brown who depend on the transit system to get to work, they wait for a resolution.
She's not happy the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a challenge to Illinois' law barring concealed carry of guns on public transit
"They denied the appeal to bring your firearms on the train because we may need to have it because people will think twice," Brown said.
Officers met Brown at the Clark/Lake Station when the train arrived, but as of Tuesday night, no arrests were made.