CHICAGO - An Indiana man was charged today with kidnapping for allegedly beating and sexually assaulting a woman he met online.
KEITH DEWITT DAVIS, 25, of South Bend, Ind., is charged with one count of kidnapping in connection with a sexual assault on June 27, 2016, in Calumet City, according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago. The complaint describes three other similar assaults or attempted assaults in Calumet City that occurred over the summer within four blocks of the June 27 attack. Davis is suspected of committing all of them, the complaint states.
Davis was arrested last weekend on a state of Indiana warrant. He was taken into federal custody this afternoon. He is scheduled to make an initial appearance on the kidnapping charge at 3:00 p.m. today before U.S. Magistrate Judge M. David Weisman in Chicago.
According to the complaint, the four incidents took place in vacant or abandoned homes in the vicinity of Pulaski Road and Burnham Avenue in Calumet City. Davis allegedly met the women online and arranged the meeting place. He displayed a weapon in at least one of the episodes, the complaint states.
The sexual assaults occurred on June 27, July 10 and Aug. 12, according to the complaint. On July 2, a woman met Davis but was able to flee after noticing the house was vacant, the complaint states. Davis grabbed her shirt and attempted to punch her, but she escaped on foot, according to the complaint.
The complaint was announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Michael J. Anderson, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The case was investigated by the Will County Safe Streets Task Force, which is comprised of officers from the Bolingbrook Police Department, Cook County Sheriff's Police Department, Evergreen Park Police Department, Joliet Police Department and Orland Park Police Department. Substantial investigative assistance was provided by the Calumet City Police Department, Hazel Crest Police Department, Midlothian Police Department, South Bend, Ind., Police Department, and the St. Joseph County, Ind., Prosecutor’s Office.
Kidnapping carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines. The public is reminded that a complaint is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine Welsh.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
