ROCKFORD, Ill. (WIFR) – A man faces charges after a 76-year-old woman reported she was attacked and se…. assaulted on a bike path in Rockford.
Jacinto Ramon Albarran Tovar, 29, is accused of two counts of aggravated cri minal se…. assault of a person over the age of 60 and two counts of aggravated battery. Police initially reported Albarran Tovar is from Rockford, however court records indicate he is homeless.
Police say around 5:45 a.m. on Jan. 1, officers were called to investigate a report of se… assault in the 2300 block of Illinois Street.
According to court records, the victim told police she was running on the Rock River Rec Bike Path when a man came up to her multiple times trying to show her something on his cell phone. The woman reported she ignored him and kept running, but on the fourth time, she noticed there was a po…. photo of a woman on the phone. At this time, the victim said he grabbed her and forced her off the path near some bushes. She told police she tried to fight him off as he se…. assaulted her.
Following the assault, she told officers she flagged down another runner who called for help. The woman said her attacker caused one of her teeth to be kn ocked out.
The report filed in court says police found Albarran Tovar walking westbound on Auburn Street near Myott Avenue. Police noted he matched the description of the suspect and saw he had dried mud on his pants and shoes. Later, the vic tim positively identified Albarran Tovar as the person who attacked her. He was arrested and detained in the Winnebago County Jail.
Investigators say Albarran Tovar freely and voluntarily waived Miranda rights when they spoke with him. They say he claimed he left a family member’s house in the 1400 block of North Avenue earlier in the morning and walked east on Auburn, stating he crossed over the Rock River and eventually turned around to walk back to his family member’s home once he got to the east side of the river. He claimed the dried mud was a result of a fall and denied attacking the vic tim.
Investigators report the suspect and vi ctim did not know each other.
A judge granted a petition from the Winnebago County State’s Attorney’s Office to keep Albarran Tovar detained in the Winnebago County Jail.
He is expected to be arraigned on the charges on Feb. 27.
