Warning: Details in this story may be disturbing to read.
A five-time felon charged with violently attacking and sexually assaulting an 18-year-old woman in the West Town neighborhood last summer attempted to storm out of a courtroom and turned down a plea deal in the case.
Rufus Carson, 37, was charged with aggravated criminal sexual assault causing bodily harm, aggravated kidnapping causing bodily harm and aggravated battery causing bodily harm in August 2018.
He appeared in court Tuesday where he was expected to take a plea deal in the case, but tried to walk out as Judge Thaddeus Wilson detailed allegations against him.
"I don't want to listen to this no more," Carson said. "I don't care what he say. He can't force me to stay here no longer."
Carson, who was still wearing handcuffs at the time, was eventually removed from the courtroom.
Carson is accused in what was described as a "heinous" attack on an 18-year-old woman who was in Chicago on a student work visa from Poland. She had taken a Blue Line train around 7 a.m. on Aug. 26 to work at a Starbucks in the city's Noble Square neighborhood. As she exited the train, Carson followed her, prosecutors said.
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CTA surveillance shows Carson on a train a platform and later getting on an escalator behind the victim. Residential cameras then captured him follow her on Ogden, eventually grabbing her and putting her in a chokehold. Audio from the footage captured her screaming as he pulled her into an alley.
Ten minutes into the video, Carson can be seen emerging from the alley, fixing his pants, and looking for potential witnesses before returning into the area without the cameras, where the attack continues. Officials say audio captures her screams for roughly 20 minutes.
The victim was later found by two construction workers with injuries so severe they thought she was dead, said Prosecutor Mikki Miller. She had been unconscious for an hour and a half, Miller said. When an ambulance did arrive, she briefly regained consciousness and told first responders she’d been raped, according to Miller.
The victim, identified only as WK, was in a coma for several days. She had to re-learn how to walk and talk during her recovery.
Prosecutors said Carson was arrested 24 hours after the attack, still wearing the same clothes. The victim's blood was on the clothing, Miller said.
Carson chose not to watch video of the attack in court and acknowledge he knew there was DNA evidence in the case. Still, he declined a plea deal that would give him 30 years behind bars.
At his trial, which is now scheduled for Jan. 24, he could face up to 120 years in prison.
"I'm just fearful trial will do more damage than can ever be reversed for this victim," Wilson said.
