We wish this story had a happy ending, but alas, it doesn’t.
A 27-year-old woman was riding a CTA train by herself – well, until 34-year-old Ronald Sparks (pictured above) showed up on the scene and began fondling her legs. She told him to leave her alone, but he persisted.
Of course, mass transit in Illinois is a safe working environment for criminals thanks to the Illinois General Assembly members. Good guys with carry licenses can’t carry their guns on public transit facilities.
He told her he was going to rape her and then pulled her to the ground and pulled off her shorts and panties. Give the girl her props though, she fought hard.
The train stopped at the next stop and then the appalling happened.
The woman cried for help to a male passenger who had boarded the train.
What did he do?
He turned around and left the train.
Welcome to Chicago.
The good news is Chicago cops were able to use the surveillance footage to put the image of the attacker out to CTA employees and cops, and ultimately that led to the capture of Sparks. Thanks in part to Sparks wearing the same clothes the day he was caught.
We no longer care enough about others…. and the chivalry is bred right out of the metrosexuals here in chicago. To be fair, the man who walked on had no means to end this, and may not have the ability to overpower this punk. I feel for the woman who was his victim, but she was also denied the ability to equalize the threat, courtesy of our legislators.
Why, it would be against the law to carry your concealed firearm in a “gun free” area. You might get fined or something, and one wouldn’t want that, now would we?
For a man to ignore the pleas of a woman begging for help is sad and pathetic. It would be wrong to ask “Are there any good men left in Chicago?” because I damn sure know plenty.
But it speaks volumes for how we’ve pussified too many men into whimpering little man-children.
“You might get fined or something” and face a misdemeanor arrest. Also, some folks believe in following the law, even if it’s poorly written.
Not sayin’ she was “asking for it,” but what SENTIENT young woman rides the Chitcago trains alone?
That’s like entering the jungle.
Twenty years ago I was AFRAID to ride it home drunk after a night of partying in the Loop! IT was DARKKKKK.
First of all, I can guarantee you that she was not asking for it! That is a stupid comment to make!
Second, you have no idea of her life situation! Maybe she doesn’t know anyone to ride with her. Maybe she is a hard working person that HAD to find a way to her destination.
That does NOT give ANYONE the right to TAKE what they want.
Think about your words before you state them. What if that was your sister, your daughter, your friend.
Would you THEN say that?
It seems like you have no idea what a person has to deal with when things are forced on them like that.
My daughters will know better than to travel alone like that.
“That does NOT give ANYONE the right to TAKE what they want.”
Now dat be racissssss to say an wut hab disparate inpak on blacks bein aba tuh do wut dey want to wyt wimminz! In any situation, White people are finding that ANY attempt to control black pathologies are racisssssssst
a woman a man a citizen can ride a train anywhere they want this
is America moron
We must do everything with wisdom, tho, even if this America. Wtf is wrong with ppl?
You can also drink gasoline. Why aren’t you drinking gasoline right this moment? Why?
This is America. We don’t curtail our freedom because we are afraid of criminals. We are free to make our own choices – especially when other’s consider them “unwise”.
You’re starting to sound like Bloomberg with his “Mega-soda” ban. “Everyone should do what I consider wise”, said every Tyrant in history.
Ken this is completed uncalled for and just ignorant. Statements like this makes us all look bad and create unnecessary conflict. What if this poor girl just read that comment? How do you think that makes her feel? You are implying that it was her fault that some animal attacked her while she was on her way home. I hope to God you don’t have children and especially a daughter. You racist,sexist, and idiotic responses on here are unwelcomed. You blame her for riding the bus alone. What about the guy that turned tail and ran? Or is that ok since he was protecting himself? You make me ill.
Cut the sanctimonious bullshit.
The responses to Ken, who is not blaming the victim, is symbolic of what’s going wrong with this country. This horrible situation provides a teachable moment about personal responsibility that seems to be sorely lacking, and it’s clear why when the messenger of such is attacked.
We are people of the gun, we all treat Cooper’s four rules as immutable laws and train to be proficient with our weapon and keep it in working order.
But what’s the next important thing we always preach?
Situational awareness! If someone gets the jump on you, your weapon is way less effective. Or any other defense you hope to mount. If she had nobody to ride with, there’s still always a human at the front driving the train.
She made a huge tactical mistake and unfortunately paid for it.
So in summary, I can both feel empathy for this poor girl while also pointing out that all other girls should be mindful of the evils that lurk in the real world.
Bangbang,
Not everyone has had training like most on this forum. To even suggest that this girl “had it coming” according to ken is ridiculous. Should/could she have made better choices, maybe. Did she only have money to ride the train? We don’t know. But to say this is her fault and that she was “asking for it” are just plain wrong. Place the blame where it belongs, on this animal who attacked her. Quit blaming the victim. I suppose you think all rape victims also had it coming. Grow up and get out of the dark ages.
In all fairness, Ken didn’t say she had it coming…
Again, Wendala, this discussion isn’t advanced with your histrionics.
While the rapist is the one guilty of doing the raping, the victim may possibly have helped enable the rapist. Pointing that out is not blaming the victim but rather shedding light on an avoidable mistake leading to tragic consequences.
Learning from those mistakes and teaching others to avoid them is the responsible thing to do.
If you want to walk through Englewood by yourself at night, get into the car of a strange man you just met, or imbibe an open drink a stranger hands you at a bar you are partially responsible for what happens. You won’t be guilty of rape, but you certainly will be guilty of stupidity.
Your thinking seems incongruous. I assume that, as a reader of this site, you are pro 2ndA and therefore acknowledge the evils of the world and the need to protect yourself. You refuse, however, to map that same paradigm to this situation i.e. this victim didn’t prepare and suffered the consequences.
Can you square that for me?
You’re an idiot, Ken.
It is often the only transportation available to young working women. And to answer another question…what you risk by carrying in a gun-free zone is a misdemeanor arrest, a fine and potentially the loss of your CCW (after the third offense…which is a felony). I’m not saying don’t do it…just citing the downsides many people consider.
What a poor response. First off, the public transit system is a cost effective, well scheduled system to get where you’re going. It’s much less expensive than a taxi, or owning a car in a city the size of Chicago. She may not have had any choice but to travel alone because she was probably on her way to or from work. Regardless, you merely point out that somehow this woman being raped is her fault for being where she could be raped, instead of pointing the blame at the man who raped her and the city of Chicago for keeping it’s citizens unable to defend themselves. What a poor example of humanity you are.
The poor girl may have a LONG walk through some not so friendly neighborhoods, so the train may be really the only feasible way to get home for her.
It’s funny because I always thought big city mass transit trains were seedy and bastions of criminal activity. Almost a jungle, to use Ken’s words.
At the first NRA convention in St. Louis a few years ago, I took their train and it was clean, neat and safe. Then again, that’s probably because there were lots of NRA members onboard, if you know what I mean.
Frankly, Chicago’s CTA trains could certainly benefit from a change in IL law to permit card-carrying good guys to carry firearms on public transportation. A few hundred to a few thousand NRA members riding CTA trains each day, with their guns legally strapped on, would probably put the brakes on much of the monkey business from America’s criminal class.
John
OOPS- you used the term “monkey.” Does that need to be censored?
It’s all about the context, my friend.
Why can’t this stuff happen to me? I would have stomped that gun into a grease spot.
Bangbang, I find your roundabout blaming the victim to be quite unseamly.
Just because she was riding public transit doesn’t mean she is dangling herself out to rapists.
Quite agree.
Indeed, personal responsibility and self-reliance isn’t for the faint of heart and tends to look crass and backwards to outsiders.
Just look at how diehard leftists refer to people of the gun.
It would have been better if she had a gun. The expression on his face would have been priceless, I am sure.
Let’s look at this as if I lived there, and let’s not say “what if it was your daughter / wife”. In most states the primary reason that allows concealed carry is to protect yourself and loved ones, and third parties thrown in at your own risk.
Not witnessing a crime from the beginning leaves you guessing and open to misconception and prosecution, both legal and civil. A person who intervenes on behalf of a stranger risks becoming a victim his or her self and handcuffed until the fine police department sorts things out, invests hours / days of personal interviews and court time, and possible civil actions.
A liberal media in a corrupt liberal city will not label you a hero for coming to the aid of a stranger, you willpubliclyavilifiedfied. It’s a sad state of affairs but, it’s not your job to be deputy Gruff and a crime fighter if you like your own life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. 911 is your friend.
There are those who spend hours pondering the what-ifs and consequences of every action they take. Then there are those who risk their lives, not to be called a hero by the media, but because it’s right and when someone is pleading for help, they do it with little thought and hesitation because it’s who they are. SELFLESS. I still look up to people like that and our country is still made up of courageous folks that, without that mindset, we would not ever have THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 911 is not reliable or quick enough. Thank God for those who are willing to assume the role of protector and crime fighter.
Mom with a gun is right again. Selfless people are good Samaritans. Seldom is the courageous choice in one’s best interests, but courageous people do it anyway because it is the RIGHT thing to do morally and ethically.
Too many selfish, “what is in it for me” people in America today.
Just look at Chris Kyle for an exame of a selfless, courageous American.
Well it’s not goin to get any better. Slick Willi is comin to
Town to help inaugurate Tiny Dancer to. Second term !!!
“What did he do?
He turned around and left the train.”
I don’t blame him, what’s he going to do, use harsh language? In a fair fight I’m pretty sure I’m no match for a hardened criminal who has gotten into a lot more fights than I have. Get help, hope good guys with guns can stop him by the next stop. If I’m going to enter a fight on behalf of a total stranger, I want to have an overwhelming advantage.
He may not have come out and said “the victim is to blame”, but to even question why she was riding public transit alone IS blaming the victim. It’s an extremely judgmental and yes, sexist, statement. The train may have been her only means to get to & from work. Had it been a male victim no one would have asked “why was he riding the train alone”. Any of us, male or female, should be able to expect to get from point A to point B using public transportation without fear of being attacked, and if attacked, should be able to defend ourselves by any means possible. That is the point of the article. Gun free zones give the criminals the upper hand. Instead of questioning or blaming the victim, work to change the laws.