Registered sex offender accused of raping woman in Humboldt Park alley

A man suspected of raping a woman in a Humboldt Park alley in January was ordered detained.

Arthur White, a 40-year-old registered sex offender, faces a felony count of aggravated criminal sexual assault. He allegedly followed a woman down Lawndale Avenue on Jan.12 and asked if she needed his help, prosecutors said.

When she declined his offer, White walked ahead of the woman, then ducked into a viaduct. When she passed the viaduct, police say he grabbed her and pushed her into an alley in the 1400 block of North Lawndale Avenue. The woman screamed for help as he shoved her into garbage cans and removed his belt, prosecutors said.

The woman tried to escape, but White held her down and struck her in the head, prosecutors said. He dragged her by her sweater and pulled down her pants. He then pulled down his pants and sexually assaulted her.

The woman screamed, but White covered her mouth and she struggled to breathe, prosecutors said. White left the scene after the alleged assault.

The woman called 911 and was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where she was treated and hospital staff collected evidence for a rape kit. Police spoke to business owners near the scene and gathered surveillance video that corroborated the woman’s account.

A week after the alleged assault, prosecutors say White approached a woman at a nearby Subway restaurant and pestered her. When she didn’t respond, he grabbed her buttocks and she drew a pocketknife and told him not to grab her again. White was arrested, and the woman in the sex assault case identified him as the man who raped her, prosecutors said.

White is a registered sex offender who raped his 5-year-old sister when he was 15.

At a court hearing this week, White was ordered detained until his next court date Feb. 24.