Sex Crimes detectives assigned to the Special Victims Division tonight are charging Christopher E. Chapman, 43, with attempted rape for last Sunday evening’s attack on a 25-year-old woman as she ran on the Cumberland River Greenway near the intersection of 2nd Avenue North and Cement Plant Road.
Analysis of the evidence by scientists at the MNPD Crime Laboratory helped lead to the development of Chapman as a suspect. The victim tonight identified Chapman from a photo line-up as the assailant.
Chapman has been in jail since Monday after he was arrested by a police canine team for breaking into a Glenrose Avenue church. He was charged then with aggravated criminal trespassing.
On Sunday evening, the victim saw a man (now identified as Chapman) as she was running and thought he was trying to talk to her, so she stopped. She said he then grabbed her and put her into a chokehold. He threw her into a fence, which caused her to fall to the ground. He got on top of her and held her down before a witness intervened and pulled him away. The attacker then fled the area.
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Christopher E. Chapman, 43