NL Man Fondled Woman After Entering Home In Middle Of Night: Police

NEW LENOX, IL — A New Lenox man faces multiple charges after police say he entered the home of a woman he knew and touched her without her permission in the middle of the night. The woman chased him out of her house before police could arrive.

Police say Noah Upchurch, 24, of the 100 block of Pleasant Lane in unincorporated New Lenox, was charged with criminal sexual abuse, criminal trespass to residence, and one count of misdemeanor battery after an incident Jan. 21. Upchurch reportedly entered a home in the 200 block of Third Avenue around 3:40 a.m., and a woman awoke to find Upchurch "standing next to her bed while rubbing her lower body over her clothing," police said. She screamed, chased him out of the house and called police.

Police responding to the woman's call of a burglary in progress learned he had entered the home through a faulty rear door. The woman told police that Upchurch was a friend of a family member who had recently been sending her inappropriate sexual text messages, police said. She told him to stop and blocked his phone number, she told police.

Police took Upchurch into custody at his home around 5 a.m.

"This was an incident in which the offender knew the victim and was not a random act," New Lenox police said. "At no time was any member of the community in danger other than the victim of this attack."