River Forest police have arrested a Dominican University student for the sexual assault of a female student, after he surrendered himself to police on May 5.
Xavier Patterson, 24, of the 4300 block of W. Augusta in Chicago, was arrested and charged with felony criminal sexual assault for an incident that took place on May 4 at approximately 1:50 a.m. The victim claimed to have been studying in her door room at Dominican just before the assault occurred. After the incident, the victim called a family member and told the relative about the assault.
University security personnel were notified later that morning, and they contacted the River Forest police. The police interviewed the victim and her relative while officers collected evidence from the scene.
Patterson and the victim were acquainted through a mutual friend, police said, and Patterson was a student living on campus at the time of the assault. His bond was set at $10,000, and a preliminary hearing is set for May 12. River Forest Police Sergeant Michael Thornley said that the investigation is still pending, as the police wait for evidence to be analyzed. He said that additional charges may be filed at a later date.
According to Thornley, the suspect had no prior criminal history that the police know of, but he said they’re hesitant to say any more about the case.
“We’re trying to be careful about what we disclose at this point because we don’t want to identify the victim,” Thornley said.
River Forest Police Chief Gregory Weiss said that these kinds of cases can often be difficult to prosecute because it’s usually the victim’s word against the offender.
“We as police officers have a duty to make sure we conduct an impartial investigation,” said Weiss.
