Witnesses “thwarted” the attempted sexual assault of a Northwestern student when a Chicago man allegedly tried to assault her near campus in Evanston on Tuesday morning, police said.
The suspect, Devonte Huggins, appeared Wednesday before a judge who set bail at $200,000 with electronic monitoring.
Huggins, 20, of the 6900 block of South Harper Avenue, was charged with attempted aggravated criminal sexual assault and aggravated battery in a public way.
Shortly before 6:30 a.m. Tuesday near Clark Street and Orrington Avenue, the 27-year-old was grabbed from behind by a man and thrown to the ground, Evanston police said in a statement. The man attempted to remove her pants.
Witnesses stopped the attack, and the man ran off, police said. Police did not elaborate on what the witnesses did.
Evanston police distributed a photo of the man captured on a nearby surveillance camera that showed him wearing a “unique coat,” Evanston police said.
That afternoon, around 12:25 p.m., Glencoe police located the man near Dundee Road and Forestway Drive while responding to a well-being check and determined he matched the description of the attacker, including the coat, police said.
The student suffered “minor” injuries during the attack, police said.
sfreishtat@chicagotribune.com
