Chicago Transit Authority named in suit over alleged sexual assault

A woman is suing over allegations she was sexually assaulted by an unknown assailant in a construction site outside a station.

Identified only as Jane Doe, the plaintiff filed a first amended complaint Nov. 27 in the Cook County Circuit Court against Kiewit Infrastructure Co., Lochner MMM Group LLC, Reyes Group Ltd. and the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), citing negligence.

According to the complaint, Kiewit was contracted by the CTA to be the general contractor for the North Main Red Line Station Rehabilitation Project in December 2012.

The suit states that during the design, demolition and construction of the Morse station, the defendants performed construction excavation and construction work near Lunt Street.

During the construction, the complaint contends that materials, including piles of brick and concrete blocks, cement mix, scaffolding, at the site posed a danger to the public.

The plaintiff claims that she was attempting to enter the Morse Street station through the Lunt Street entrance at about 5:30 a.m., when an assailant grabbed her, forcibly took her into the construction site and sexually assaulted her behind piles of construction material.

She alleges the assailant was able to repeatedly beat and assault her without being detected because the construction site was unlit and was able to use construction materials to hide the assault.

The plaintiff is seeking damages in excess of the jurisdictional limit. She is being represented in the case by W. Jason Gatzulis.

Cook County Circuit Court Case No. 2013L013601.

This is a report on a civil lawsuit filed at the Cook County Courthouse. The details in this report come from an original complaint filed by a plaintiff. Please note that a complaint represents an accusation by a private individual, not the government. It is not an indication of guilt, and it represents only one side of the story.