Prosecutors secure 100-year prison sentence for convicted rapist
 Cook County prosecutors have secured a 100-year prison sentence against a man charged in connection with the brutal assault of a Chicago woman in 2006, according to the Office of Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez.
Keith Nelson, 27, of Chicago, was convicted of sexual assault and kidnapping after a jury trial in June for the brazen attack of an 18-year-old female victim on the city’s south side.
According to prosecutors, on May 25, 2006, the victim was waiting near 72nd & Wabash when she was approached by the defendant. Nelson attempted to talk to the victim, before he grabbed her and punched her during a physical struggle. Nelson then choked the victim and dragged her to a nearby alley and into a backyard, where he repeatedly raped and continued to choke the victim during the attack.
After the attack, Nelson left the victim in the backyard, naked from the waist down. The victim called for help and was taken to the hospital where she received treatment for multiple injuries and a sexual assault kit was collected. Nelson was arrested in 2008, after he was identified as the offender in two other sexual assaults. DNA analysts from the 2006 attack matched the defendant.
Nelson was sentenced by Cook County Judge William Lacy on July 27, 2010 to 25 years each for three counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault and one count of aggravated kidnapping to be served consecutively for a total of 100 years, citing that the defendant is a danger to the public.
State’s Attorney Alvarez thanked Assistant State’s Attorneys Michelle Papa and Marina Para for their handling of the case.