A Venezuelan migrant was denied pre-trial release after allegedly following a woman off a train and sexually assaulting her earlier this month on the UIC campus.
On March 16, Elvis Hernandez-Pernalete, who also goes by Luis Guevara, allegedly followed a woman off a train at the UIC-Halsted Blue Line stop and grabbed her from behind, according to Fox 32 News and UIC police.
Hernandez-Pernalete stole the victim’s belongings and sexually assaulted her before running away from the scene, officials said.
According to Assistant State’s Attorney Maya Hinton, despite everything that happened, the witness, believed they recognized the attacker as a migrant living at the Standard Club shelter in the Loop, so they did some investigating of their own. They went to the shelter with video of the assailant and showed it to a security guard at the facility. Hinton explained that the guard confirmed that the attacker had lived in the shelter since November and was “well-known” to them.
Court documents revealed this was the second woman Hernandez-Pernalet followed from a train and attacked from behind.
Hernandez-Pernalete was also accused of stealing from a T.J. Maxc earlier this month. He was then allegedly seen leaving the store without paying for the merchandise, which totaled $136.93.
Last Thursday, Hernandez-Pernalete was denied pre-trial release by a Cook County judge who cited his “pattern of attacking victims from trains.”
He was charged in both cases and is awaiting trial which is scheduled April 10th.
