Chakib Mansour Khodja, 36, was arrested for allegedly kidnapping, sexually assaulting and strangling five women between 2022 and 2025, police said.
A Chicago man was arrested last week and charged for a series of sex crimes that took place over the course of three years.
Chakib Mansour Khodja, 36, was slapped with 16 felony counts and two misdemeanors for kidnapping, sexually assaulting or strangling five women between 2022 and 2025, the Chicago Police Department said in a statement on Monday.
The victims ranged in age from 21 to 26 years old, and none had prior relationships with Khodja, according to police. Police said the incidents all took place on the North Side of Chicago.
In May 2022, Khodja was waiting in the common area of his first known victim’s apartment complex, court documents shared by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office show. When the victim entered her building, Khodja allegedly pulled a black drawstring bag over her head and began to strangle her before fleeing.
Later that year, Khodja allegedly forced a woman to perform oral sex on him and penetrated her multiple times in the backseat of a sedan, according to the documents. And in two separate incidents this year, Khodja threatened two victims with a knife before and while he allegedly sexually assaulted them.
The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office did not immediately return a request to provide Khodja’s attorney’s contact information.
At a press conference with police on Monday, Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke said his arrest marked a “good day for Chicago.”
“Today, every single woman in the city, every single man who has a wife, a mother, a daughter, a sister should all be breathing a sigh of relief,” Burke said. “This man was a violent serial predator who literally went out hunting for his victims.”
Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling said that detectives established the crime pattern through public and privately-own video and DNA evidence.
DNA recovered from the black drawstring bag matched DNA recovered in multiple other sexual assault investigations and through a buccal swab of Khodja upon his arrest, according to the court documents. Khodja was arrested at O’Hare International Airport.
“I want to acknowledge the strength and resilience of the survivors who were traumatized by these horrific crimes and actions of this individual,” Snelling said. “These women survived something that was horrible and terrible, and it’s something that they will continue to live with throughout the rest of their days.”
Snelling also encouraged other victims or witnesses to step forward.
“We can never assume that we have located every victim that this predator has targeted,” he said. “We would like to know if there are more victims out there.”
