1 week Ago By USA TODAY
CHICAGO — A Chicago man has been arrested and charged in connection with a series of sexual assaults spanning nearly three years in some of the city's most sought-after neighborhoods, prosecutors said Monday. Chakib Mansour Khodja terrorized women on the city’s North Side, according to Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling. Khodja, 36, faces 18 charges related to the five attacks, including multiple counts of kidnapping, strangulation with a "dangerous instrument" and home invasion, according to the city’s top police officer.
"Today, every single woman in the city, every single man who has a wife, a mother, a daughter, a sister should all be breathing a sigh of relief," Cook County State's Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke told reporters on Monday . "This man was a violent serial predator who literally went out hunting for his victims." The case out of Chicago comes after a frantic few months where women living in North Side neighborhoods where the sexual assaults happened called for a resolution to the case that had many afraid to walk alone at night.
Khodja’s suspected attacks date back to 2022 but lasted up until February, Snelling said. "We are putting the best and brightest on this case to make sure that this man will be incarcerated and will not harm people again, that is our goal," Burke said. "Today is a good day for Chicago.
" Khodja was arrested at O’Hare International Airport returning to Chicago from a trip, Snelling said. The Chicago Tribune reported that he was returning from Algeria. Chicago teen charged as serial murderer: 'Difficult to comprehend' six killings Video and DNA evidence used in the investigation Snelling applauded witnesses who came forward to help solve the case and detectives who linked Khodja to the crimes using video and DNA evidence.
"I want to acknowledge the strength and resilience of the survivors who were traumatized by the horrific crimes and actions of this individual," Snelling said. "Although we know the offender is in custody, we know there is still a long road for the women as these cases are prosecuted." According to Chicago police, the attacks took place on the following dates: "We can never assume we have located every victim this predator has targeted," Snelling added.
'Remove them from the streets': Chicago serial murder suspect charged with terrorizing guard, inmate behind bars Court filings depict harrowing attacks According to Cook County court filings, Khodja entered the apartment of a 21-year-old woman at 3:40 a.m., put a knife to her throat and assaulted her.
The filings add that Khodja targeted women at random. Court papers later said Khodja followed another woman down a street at 3:10 a.m.
and assaulted her after threatening her with a knife. Video evidence linked Khodja’s car to the scene, court filings added. Another 21-year-old woman was assaulted after accepting a ride from a man, according to court filings.
Video evidence also linked Khodja’s car to the scene, according to a court order that denied his pretrial release. Illinois abolished cash bail in 2023 . Authorities decide whether or not to release people charged with a crime based on whether they risk committing more crimes or fleeing.
Latest high-profile case in Chicago Burke ran to replace former Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx on a platform of being tough on crime for Chicago and has since touted her efforts to prosecute outstanding offenders. The case is the second major prosecution for her office since she was sworn in last December. The other high-profile case came in February when Chicago Police announced murder charges against Antonio Reyes, a 21-year-old who was a teen at the time of the 2020 shootings that rocked the city.
Major breaks in the case, according to Chief of Detectives Antionette Ursitti, came when authorities were able to link a .40-caliber handgun they recovered to multiple shootings as well as link Reyes' "fairly significant" social media footprint to the crimes. Reyes is currently awaiting trial in the Cook County Circuit Court.
Two missing sisters. One bizarre note. For 20 years, a family has asked: Where are our girls? Michael Loria is a national reporter on the USA TODAY breaking news desk.
Contact him at [email protected], @mchael_mchael or on Signal at (202) 290-4585. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Chicago prosecutors link man to a string of sexual assaults.
