Chicago-area man sucker-punched 'innocent woman' while on pretrial release, prosecutors say

DUPAGE COUNTY, Ill. - A suburban Chicago man has been ordered held in custody after prosecutors say he attacked a woman near the Illinois Prairie Path while out on pretrial release.

Woman punched, Oswego man charged

What we know:

Wheaton police responded around 5:37 p.m. on July 11 to the 700 block of West Liberty Drive after receiving a report of a battery, according to the DuPage County State's Attorney's Office.

When officers arrived at the scene, they learned a woman was sitting on a bench near the entrance to the Illinois Prairie Path when 48-year-old Marvin Carter allegedly stood directly in front of her. When she went to get up, prosecutors said Carter punched her in the head and neck with a closed fist, causing her to fall to the ground.

Carter then allegedly kicked the victim's belongings after they scattered during the fall before walking east on Liberty Drive. Officers located him a short time later and took him into custody after a brief struggle, prosecutors said.

Carter is charged with two counts of aggravated battery in a public place, two counts of resisting a police officer causing injury, one count of aggravated assault on an officer and one count of misdemeanor battery.

According to prosecutors, Carter appeared in court July 12 on the new charges. Because those charges are classified as non-detainable under Illinois' SAFE-T Act law, he was granted pretrial release with electronic monitoring and ordered to stay at least 5,000 feet away from the victim.

However, prosecutors filed a motion to revoke Carter's pretrial release in his earlier pending cases, which include allegations of aggravated battery, resisting a police officer and criminal damage to government-supported property. A judge eventually granted the request when Carter refused to come to court for a hearing on that motion, prosecutors said.

What they're saying:

"The allegation that Mr. Carter walked up to an innocent woman and, for no discernable reason at all beat her, are extremely disturbing and will not be tolerated in DuPage County," DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said in a statement.

Berlin also criticized Illinois' SAFE-T Act.

"What I find troubling and frustrating however, is the fact that under the Safe-T-Act, this defendant was afforded the opportunity to allegedly beat an innocent, unsuspecting woman after he had been released pre-trial on previous non-detainable aggravated battery and battery charges. This fact illustrates the need for improvements to the State’s Safe-T-Act to give judges more discretion. Too often, we are seeing cases where a defendant accused of a serious crime is released pre-trial because the Act does not allow judges to use their discretion for certain offenses.

"Since the inception of the Safe-T-Act I have been beating the drum that judges, not the legislature, are in the best position to decide whether a defendant in any particular case should be detained pre-trial. We are all thankful that the victim in this case is expected to recover from her injuries."

Wheaton Police Chief P.J. Youker thanked the officers involved in the arrest and called the incident "disturbing and reprehensible."

What's next:

Carter, of Oswego, is due back in court on Aug. 26.

Crime and Public SafetyWheatonNews