A Southwest Side man stood before a judge Saturday, a week after authorities say he tried to lure a 13-year-old girl into his car in the Chicago Lawn neighborhood.
Chicago police quickly released a community alert March 18 after the young victim reported that an unknown man, who appeared to be 35 to 40 years old, gestured to the girl to come to his car in the 6000 block of South Talman Avenue.
In court, a judge ordered Dywon Shepard, 32, of the 2500 block of West 60th Street, who was charged with attempted child abduction, luring a child, held on $250,000.
The girl was crossing Talman with her 3-year-old nephew toward her mother’s car when Shepard’s car quickly drove up and blocked her path, prosecutors said. Shepard then asked the girl, “Where y’all going?” according to Assistant State’s Attorney Andrew Yassan.
The girl ignored Shepard but told her mother what the man asked her once she got in her mother’s car. The girl’s mother became angry and called the child’s father to tell him what happened. When she spotted Shepard’s dark green Ford Escort coming back toward her car, she got out and stood in the path of the car, prompting Shepard to stop. When he asked, “Where did that girl go?” the mother identified herself as the child’s mother and he left, Yassan said.
The break in the case came a short time later when a young witness approached the girl and her mother at the scene and told them the driver had done the same thing to her. That witness had called her boyfriend, who arrived to pick her up. The pair followed Shepard’s car, taking down his license plate and snapping photos that they sent to Chicago police, authorities said.
Shepard, who has a long criminal record that includes felony and misdemeanor convictions, turned himself in to police Friday after learning of the bulletin, authorities said. The girl and most of the witnesses picked out Shepard from a photo array.
He is scheduled to return to court next week.
