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Video leads to charges in groping incident

Aug. 14, 2019 – Video provided by a private surveillance camera led to the arrest of a 31-year-old Chicago man in connection with an incident Monday similar to four reports last week of female pedestrians who said a man had grabbed their buttocks from behind then fled on foot.

Jason D. Smith of the first block of north Mayfield Avenue in Chicago was arrested yesterday after being stopped for a traffic violation. A records search found his license had been revoked. While in custody, investigators noted that Smith matched the description of the suspect in the groping incidents and the similarity between his vehicle and one in the video from a camera near where Monday’s groping incident had occurred.

The victim, a 61-year-old Oak Park woman, could not positively identify Smith as her assailant, but he implicated himself, investigators said. The women in the similar incidents reported last week also could not positively identify him in connection to their reports, according to Police.

Smith was charged with one count of misdemeanor battery related to the incident Monday as well one count of driving on a revoked license. Bond was set at $2,500 and he is scheduled to appear at 9 a.m., Sept. 4, in the Fourth Municipal District Court in Maywood.

According to Police reports, the incident that led to the charges occurred shortly after 8 a.m. The victim told Police she was walking south on Humphrey Avenue from South Boulevard when she noticed a man walking north on the opposite side of Humphrey, crossing to her side. When she turned to check traffic, she said the man, later alleged to be Smith, was now behind her. He grabbed her buttocks and fled on foot, she said.

A private surveillance camera in the 100 block of south Humphrey Avenue captured a suspect matching the victim’s description of her assailant running on the block. The video also had images of a white sedan passing by multiple times prior to the incident.

In the four incidents reported last week – one on Aug. 7 and three on Aug. 9 – the victims provided similar descriptions of their assailant as a clean-shaven African American man, about 6-feet tall with a thin build and short hair. One of the victims said the man was in his 20s and another reported he was barefoot. He was last seen wearing a black tee shirt and black shorts.

The first incident was reported at about 9:30 a.m. Wed., Aug. 7 near Lombard Avenue and Madison Street. The other three incidents were reported between about 9 a.m. and 9:30 a.m., Fri., Aug. 9, the first on Wesley Avenue near Madison Street and the second on Euclid Avenue near Pleasant Street. In the third incident on Aug. 9, the victim did not file a report.

Anyone with information is urged to contact the Oak Park Police Department at 708.386.3800. Information also may be provided anonymously by calling 708.434.1636 or online at www.oak-park.us/crimetip.

Any criminal charges are merely allegations and all persons charged with a crime are presumed innocent until or unless proven guilty in a court of law.

photo of Jason D. Smith, charged in groping incident
Jason D. Smith