Homeless man accused of sexual assault in Wheaton

A 38-year-old homeless man is being held on $750,000 bond in DuPage County jail after being charged with sexually assaulting a woman near the Illinois Prairie Path in Wheaton, authorities said Monday.

Robert Davidson is charged with one count of criminal sexual assault.

Police said they responded to a report of someone screaming for help near the Wheaton PADS shelter around 12:30 a.m. May 18 and arrived to find the victim, who also is homeless, with dirt on her face and scratches and cuts to her upper body.

Authorities said Davidson approached the woman and demanded sex. When she refused, authorities said Davidson dragged her by her hair into a wooded area, sexually assaulted her and then fled.

Wheaton police investigating the attack took Davidson into custody without incident on Sunday.

"Sexual assaults are degrading and among the most invasive crimes a victim can endure," DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said in a written statement. "Physically and emotionally, the damage caused by a sex crime can fester, leaving victims to suffer not only at the time of the assault, but possibly for years to come."

Davidson's next court appearance is scheduled for June 15.