Chicago City Wire

Anthony Richardson, who was recently paroled is accused of sexually assaulting a woman who had passed out from drug use in an elevator at the Grand Red Line station in Chicago. 

Richardson had been sentenced to 18 months for felony retail theft but was released on the same day. 

"Three days after being paroled for his 10th felony, Anthony Richardson sexually assaulted an unconscious woman inside an elevator at the Grand Red Line station, prosecutors said Monday," CWBChicago tweeted.  

Surveillance video from the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) showed a woman falling unconscious in the elevator after allegedly smoking drugs. Richardson, who was not acquainted with the woman, allegedly entered the elevator, exposed himself, and sexually assaulted her. CTA employees discovered the assault and alerted the authorities, leading to Richardson's arrest. His criminal record includes multiple felony convictions, and he has been charged with criminal sexual assault and misdemeanor public indecency in this case. 

Richardson has been arrested over 40 times, according to Chicago Police Department's records. Notably, Richardson was detained nine times for retail theft over four months in the summer of 2017. He is seen sporting a jersey bearing Brian Urlacher's name from the Chicago Bears in the mug photographs taken for eight of these arrests. Richardson has had considerable participation in criminal activity, primarily stealing, for a short time.

The RTA in recent years has seen a spike in violent crime and subsequently decreased ridership. In 2022 the crime rate on RTA’s trains and buses was 6.2 violent crimes for every one million rides. In 2021 the crime rate was 6.8 per million rides. Those rates of violent crimes were the most in more than a decade, according to the Chicago Tribune. The number of violent crimes has steadily increased since 2019 after having dropped to 1.5 violent crimes per million rides in 2015.

Critics are arguing repetitive criminals like Richardson should be locked up. Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx – who will not be seeking reelection – is being blamed for her part after in 2016 when she exclusively charge thefts above $1,000. Since then, there has been an epidemic of theft in Chicago. Cook County's crime rate drastically rose during her leadership.