Young boy sexually assaulted in alley near elementary school last week

Last Wednesday morning at around 8:30 AM, just as the school day was beginning, a man sexually assaulted a 7-year-old boy in an alley near an elementary school, according to police.

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It happened on the 700 block of East 103rd Street in the Fernwood neighborhood near Wendell Smith elementary school. The man grabbed the boy by the arm and abused the boy until the child was able to kick his attacker and run away.

“That type of stuff makes me want to cry,” said Jesus Christopher-Ray Tyler who lives in the area. “It should never – a child? Why would you do that?”

“It’s too close to home. It’s very frightening,” said Ashley Avery who’s home looks out on the alley. She is the mother of two children. “It’s scary. I already have them tight-knitted to me already. If I can’t go, they can’t go.”

A nearby gas station does have security cameras pointed near to the alley, but nothing about the incident or the suspect was caught on film. But to some neighbors in the area, they shouldn’t have to rely on security footage.

“As parents, as school officials, we need to be protective of our children as they come up. We need to be the ones watching after them,” said Jason Hobbes. “A young child should never be a target.”

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Police describe the suspect as a male between 5’2″ and 5’6″, with blue eyes, was wearing a red and white winter hat, a black ski mask, and a black hooded sweatshirt.

Chicago police are patrolling the neighborhood but no arrests have been made yet.

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