Crime & Law

Arrest Made in LaBagh Woods Sexual Assault Case

A man has been arrested and charged in the sexual assault of a 29-year-old woman that occurred in LaBagh Woods on May 23, the Forest Preserve District of Cook County announced over the weekend.

John C. Lang, 45, has been charged with aggravated criminal sexual assault and aggravated battery with strangulation. Lang, who has no address on file, is being held without bail.

The attack, in broad daylight in a heavily wooded area of the forest preserve, had rattled members of the North Side community surrounding the preserve, which is popular with birders and serves as an access point to the North Branch Trail system. 

Forest Preserves Police were assisted in their investigation by officers from the Chicago Police Department and Cook County Sheriff’s Police, who helped canvas the area.

“I want to congratulate and thank our detectives and the entire Forest Preserves of Cook County Police Department for their outstanding police work and relentless dedication to seeking justice for the victim. This was a shocking incident, even more so because of the relative rarity of such attacks in the forest reserves," Adam Bianchi, general superintendent of the Cook County forest preserves, said in a statement.

Contact Patty Wetli: [email protected]

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