Suspect identified in sexual assault

Abbey Whittington, Associate News Editor

The Charleston Police Department has identified one of the two men who are suspected of sexually assaulting a woman visiting Charleston at 5 a.m. Saturday inside an apartment at 1515 Ninth St.

Charleston Police Detective Tony West said the name of the identified suspect could not be released since the investigation is still going on.

The identified suspect does not have an address in Charleston and is not a student at Eastern or Lake Land College.

In their investigation, West said they are still considering both men involved as suspects even though only one of them may be responsible for the crime.

West said the victim’s friend contacted her parents about the assault, who then called the Charleston authorities.

The victim was visiting from the Chicago area, and the CPD has not yet confirmed if her friend was an Eastern student.

Anyone with information about the incident can contact the CPD by messaging their Facebook page, contacting the Coles County Crime Stoppers at 866-345-8488 or calling West at 217-345-8402.

West said anyone can call to assist in their investigation.

“Any information they might’ve heard through Facebook, Snapchat, no matter how trivial or small the information, (people) should contact us,” West said.

 

Abbey Whittington can be reached at 581-2812 or anwhittington@eiu.edu.