Man charged in CTA Red Line attack on pregnant woman

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Chicago police have arrested a man accused of beating a pregnant woman on the Red Line.

Julius Hope, 35, has charged with felony aggravated battery, police said Tuesday.

Police said he punched and kicked a pregnant woman on a CTA Red Line on February 13.

RELATED: Pregnant woman punched, kicked on CTA Red Line train near Addison stop

ABC7 Eyewitness News spoke with the woman, who only wished to be identified by her first name, Ashley. She said she felt alone as she endured the beating.

"It is ridiculous. Somebody should have done something," she said.

Ashley said she heard the man saying derogatory things about women prior to the attack. She ducked her head as he got in her face.

"I said, 'Sir, I am not going to fight you. I don't know you. Please don't put your hands on me,'" she said.

Ashley said she pushed the button to speak with the train operator as the man exited the train at Addison.

"I said, 'That was bogus. I'm a female and I'm pregnant,'" she said. "And once I said that he opened the doors again and attacked me."

The man ran down the stairs and out of the station after the attack.

Ashley told ABC7 Eyewitness News she tried asking a CTA employee for help and they responded, "What the f*** I'm going to do? I'm not the police."

Ashley said she's afraid to get back on a CTA train and is calling for more security.

"I think it would protect people riding the train because I'm not the only one who has gotten brutally attacked on the train," she said.