Activist Says She Was Victim Of Attempted Abduction At Joliet Library, City Manager Beatty Reveals Arrest

JOLIET, IL — A life-long Joliet resident and well-known community activist, Trista Brown spoke at Monday night's Joliet City Council meeting revealing that a man recently tried to abduct her by the downtown Joliet Public Library. Brown spoke during the public comment section of the meeting, voicing her displeasure with Joliet Police Chief Bill Evans.

Joliet Patch spoke with Brown after the meeting and she revealed that she became the victim of a crime around 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 8. She said the person who tried to abduct her was a white man, about 5-foot-11 to 6 feet tall, with salt-and-pepper hair and a "goofy-looking" face. She said he wore a yellow plaid shirt and drove a green pickup truck that may have side damage.

At the time of her trauma, Brown said she was pulling her wagon of books and supplies along the sidewalk on Clinton Street when the man made filthy sexual comments toward her.

"An incident happened to me, downtown Joliet, and I'm here about safety and protection. And the reason I have this strong hysteria is because I've been through some things. OK?... I'm always at the Joliet library and at the Joliet library I'm there at 9 o'clock a.m. to teach a class," Brown told the Joliet City Council. "That Saturday morning, I wasn't paying attention because I'm always there bringing stuff. And some man came and tried to abduct me, put his hands ... and said terrible things," Brown said, holding back tears. "And it triggered me back to when I was in third grade at that same library when someone tried to rape me. Everything that I forgot about, he triggered."

Brown told the City Council that she later found out the man "had been at the Joliet library on the second floor, trying to talk with, saying sexual things to a young kid.

"Now I know that Chief Evans don't care about me and don't care ... but I can't stand it anymore because I'm tired. I'm here because, you have to understand, we are downtown Joliet. There is a lot of homeless, there is a lot of things going on down here. I see it every day, but until it happens to you, where somebody is not paying attention, and somebody can take you at any day ... so everything that happened to me, came back to me.

"And all I asked, was just somebody to hear me. So, I go to your police department, can I get a copy of my report? And they tell me I have to fill out a FOIA at the end of the day ... I have been talking to that Chief Evans for I don't know how long since he's been in that office. That man has ignored me."

Brown told the City Council that she was put in touch with Deputy Police Chief Carlos Matlock, "because I guess they figured if they got a Black man to talk to me, it would be different. And all he can do is say 'I see that you're angry,' and he hung up the phone. And all I was really concerned with was ... that little boy, that kid, who was on the second floor. And if you guys remember, years ago, somebody got raped down at that library. I know you don't want to hear it, but you do need to hear it," Brown raised her voice, still overcome with emotion.

"You need to hear it because these things are happening. You just arrested a pedophile. We've got to pay attention. The chief's got to do a better job at listening. You guys all can't do it. That could have been different for me. But I stand strong here today because that's who I am, but I am going to tell you, I am broken ... and I ask that Chief Evans quit keep ignoring me and people and do a better job. He should know, he was attacked down right in that same place."

After Brown finished her remarks, she returned to her seat in the audience, crying uncontrollably as an older woman in the audience went over to console her.

After Brown spoke, Joliet resident Valerie Terlep went to the podium and told the Council she was there to give her support.

"I'm here for her also," Terlep remarked. "But she is right. There is a lot of things that go on, not just on the east side. I live on the west side. I have two kids that were teens maybe three years ago, who, a man many of you may know, his name is Robert Hernandez, he actually did a lot of things to my teens, one is a boy ... and I'm here with her because things do need to get done around this town. I grew up here. This is my town. I don't want to move, but me and my husband, we just want to take the kids and run away because this town sucks. It's horrible. There's bad people out there and if we don't address it, these kids that are going to be the future, they are not. They are not, because there's bad people out there. And we do need to address it, and hopefully the police department can maybe address it and open their eyes a little bit more and maybe do a better job. But we do need to open our eyes, please."

Beth Beatty Reveals Arrest Was Just Made In Brown's Case

Once the public comment section of the meeting ended, Joliet City Manager Beth Beatty made it a point to address Brown's comments.

Beatty said that Chief Evans has been a wonderful chief of police.

"I'm so sorry for the trauma that she experienced, but I would like everyone to know that the men and women of our police department do defend all our residents on a daily basis and Chief Evans cares just as much as everybody else," Beatty said. "This stuff keeps him up at night, just like it keeps me up at night. So, he doesn't get to defend himself, but he's a wonderful chief, who does a great job and I would like to announce that we arrested the person who allegedly assaulted Trista today.

"And to address the woman that was here from the west side, the person she's talking about, we've arrested three times, but the judge keeps letting him go. So, our police department is doing the work, and we need to continue to do the work and be really sensitive to these things happening. They happen, bad people are all over the place, it's not just Joliet. But we do have an amazing staff that does a wonderful job, and I just want to stick up for our chief in that sense."

Related Joliet Patch coverage:

• Police Chief Taken To Hospital After Downtown Attack, 1 Arrested | Joliet, IL Patch
• Bob Hernandez Pleads Guilty To Cocaine, Stalking, Learns His Sentence
• Man Shot In Groin Inside Joliet Public Library Bathroom