An 18-year-old Aurora man is accused of at least four attacks on different women in Aurora over the past few weeks, officials said.
Zion Banks, of the 200 block of T Street, has been charged with three counts of felony aggravated battery, one count of felony attempted criminal sexual assault and one count of felony unlawful restraint, Aurora police officials said in a news release.
The first attack he is accused of occurred around 10 a.m. April 17 in the 400 block of North Titsworth Avenue, police said. A woman in her late 40s said she was walking home when she noticed a man was following her. After a short time, the man approached her and grabbed her buttocks with both hands, then fled when she struck him with an umbrella, police said.
Six days later, a woman in her 50s told officers that around 11 p.m. April 23 in the 500 block of East Benton Street, a man followed her into a backyard. He allegedly grabbed the back of her neck, forced her to the ground and attempted to sexually assault her, police said.
The woman struggled and was able to break free, and the man ran away, according to police.
On April 30, a woman in her 20s said that a man approached her from behind and grabbed her waist with both hands near Kensington Place and Elmwood Avenue, according to police.
The woman lunged forward and the man ran away, police said.
Police also received a report from a woman in her late teens who said she was walking in the 500 block of Second Avenue on May 3 when a man approached her from behind and grabbed her buttocks with both hands and then ran away.
Officers patrolling the area spotted a man matching the description given to them of the offender and detained the man. The woman was able to identify the man who assaulted her as Banks, according to police.
Detectives linked all four incidents to Banks after they interviewed each woman involved, spoke to potential witnesses and collected physical evidence and video from the area of the incidents, police said.
mejones@chicagotribune.com
