Bond was set at $6 million bond Friday for Patrick Sykes, the man charged with the gruesome Jan. 9 attack on a 9-year-old girl who has become known as Girl X. On Thursday, Sykes, 25, who police say most recently lived in the 3200 block of West Maypole Avenue, was charged in the brutal sexual attack on the youngster in the Cabrini-Green public housing project. At Friday’s bond hearing, Asst. States Atty. Thomas Epach Jr. called the attack one of the most heinous he’s seen. Epach said Sykes detailed the attack in statements he made to police following the arrest. Included in those statements was an alleged admission by Sykes that he sprayed roach spray down the girl’s throat after the assault in an effort to cover up evidence. In 1992, according to Epach, Sykes pleaded guilty to one count of armed robbery and one count of attempted aggravated criminal sexual assault on a 17-year-old girl.
