No Charges Filed In NYE Attack On Teen Near Congress Theater
By Samantha Abernethy in News on Jan 3, 2012 7:00PM
Police have released the three men who had been held as "persons of interest" in connection to the New Year's Eve attack on an 18-year-old woman near the Congress Theater in Logan Square. The woman was turned away from the dubstep show at the Congress because she did not have ID, then was found naked, bloody and unconscious in front of a nearby home.
She had been raped and suffered trauma to her head and her body. A Congress Theater employee said he had seen her walking with six men, who returned about 20 minutes later and told them there was a naked girl on the sidewalk nearby.
As the employee approached the girl, in front of some residential homes, he called out to security officers to apprehend the young men. The guards were able to nab three of them, he said. The other three ran away.
Police arrived and arrested the three around 9:30 p.m., "as the opening acts were still performing and before Rusko was to take the stage for the big balloon drop at midnight, [Congress Theater's attorney Homero] Tristan said." The three teens were released, though, and no charges have been filed. Police are reviewing security footage from a taqueria across the street from the venue. Police have confirmed that the woman is a senior at Highland Park High School, and the school brought in counselors for upset classmates. Her condition might be better than initially thought, but she remained hospitalized Monday. The Sun-Times writes:
The student was listed in critical condition in a coma at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center on Sunday morning, police News Affairs Officer Robert Perez said. But by Sunday afternoon, a detective working on the case said it appears she “is going to be fine.”