Arrest made in alleged June rape in Wilmette

A Chicago man was arrested this month for allegedly raping a woman in Wilmette in June, according to information from the Wilmette Police Department.

Zelalem Admasu, 26, of the 2000 block of Lunt Ave., faces a charge of criminal sexual assault for the alleged crime that occurred around 9 p.m. on June 3 in a car at Howard Park, 830 17th St., Wilmette, police documents show.

That evening, Admasu was with an individual he met through a dating app who is not a Wilmette resident, Wilmette Police Cmdr. Alex Mercado said. Admasu was reportedly driving the pair and stopped and parked at Howard Park. The two were watching a movie on the vehicle’s entertainment system when the alleged sexual assault occurred, Mercado said.

The survivor reported the alleged assault the following day, Mercado said, adding that Wilmette police identified Admasu from the survivor’s statements and officers were in contact with Admasu by June 5.

Mercado said authorities did not believe there was an immediate or active threat to the Wilmette community.

Wilmette police built the case, which Mercado said included forensic examination of digital devices, over the next two-plus months and Admasu was arrested on Aug. 14.

According to WPD’s annual reports, the department investigated “criminal sexual assault” between one and three times every year between 2013-2021.

More recent annual reports show that the department took 11 reports of sex crimes — a wider category that includes several sex-related criminal offenses — in 2022 and 12 reports of sex crimes in 2023.

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