Drifter Accused in Orland Rape Arrested at Least 60 Times
The homeless man accused of preying upon an 83-year-old woman has traveled the country, breaking laws wherever he goes.
Dennis D. Dodson, 34, was charged with aggravated criminal sexual assault, a Class X felony.
Orland Park police
Photos (1)
Photos
Drifter Dennis Dodson — accused of attacking and raping an elderly Orland Park woman who was only trying to show the homeless man some kindness — has run afoul of the law more than 60 times in 15 states since leaving his native Iowa more than 15 years ago.
What brought the vagrant to Orland Park? A bicycle.
What would compel him to attack an 83-year-old woman so violently?
Not even his mother knows.
Teresa Dodson, who hasn't seen her 34-year-old son in years, assumed her son had been jailed for drugs. His drug-addled life took a turn for the worse after he and friends were arrested in Iowa years ago for stealing hog tranquilizers from a veterinarian.
“None of them were quite right after that,” Teresa Dodson told Sun-Times Media reporter Lauren FitzPatrick, who tracked down the homeless man's mother and delved into his lengthy prison record following the Sept. 23 attack on an elderly Good Samaritan, who saw Dodson sleeping behind Home Depot and tried to help him.
Occasionally seen bicycling around Orland Park before the attack, Dennis Dodson's troubled travels have taken him to California, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Florida, Iowa, Utah, Missouri, Washington, Colorado, Ohio, Nevada ... with a few stops in Illinois. On his last journey through the south suburbs, Dodson scored a state ID using the address of Together We Cope in Tinley Park, according to FitzPatrick's reporting.
His mother said she couldn't keep him in school and couldn't control him.
"Denny just sort of did what he wanted to do. I had no control,” she said. “I did what I could do.”
Arrested soon after the attack by Orland Park police, this is the first rape charge to land on Dodson's lengthy rap sheet, which includes charges for auto theft, drugs, public drunkenness, thievery, trespassing and fighting with police.
The 83-year-old woman who tried to help Dodson did what she could do, too. Getting close enough to smell the booze on his breath, she brought Dodson food and a few dollars, and she tried to get her church to help the wanderer.
And he repaid her kindness with violence.
You'll find more details in FitzPatrick's report, "Homeless Man Accused in Rape Had History of Drifting, Arrests," on SunTimes.com.
Also read FitzPatrick's court story, "83-year-old details sex assault by homeless man in Orland Park."
Jennifer D.
6:48 pm on Monday, October 17, 2011
What the hell!!! That is crazy that this man is allowed to walk the streets. Seriously, if someone has been arrested that many times for any reason, they do not know how to comply with laws and should be locked up for life or at least until they are mentally fit (rehabilitation!!). At what point does a judge realize the guy is not fit to live on his own? There are laws that say if you get 3 moving violations within a certain amount of time, you lose your license. If you drive on a suspended license, you go to jail. There should be a law in place that if you get arrested so many times in a certain amount of time, that you lose your right of freedom. He obviously is unfit in one way or another to live a healthy lifestyle. Whether he is a drug addict or just crazy, the answer is to let him live on the streets! I am the first one to hand a meal to a homeless person, or to give them money but the thought of so many of them being centrally located in the suburb next to ours and so close to Morton Gingerwood School is appalling to me!! The scary part is not the shelter being there. The scary part is the people who show up drunk or under the influence who they will not allow into the shelter will now be roaming our community. Thanks Mayor Welch for another NOT-SUCH-A-GOOD-IDEA!!!
Tony
6:05 pm on Tuesday, October 18, 2011
This is really dumb. there is no punishment for crimes any more, like that 20 year old that was killed in Arkansas. this scum isn't worried about the law. Lets start shooting people.
Russ
7:49 pm on Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Dodson sounds like he has some serious mental issues .I don't think the 83 year old was using her best judgement approaching this homeless man unaccompanied in an isolated area.
Tony
2:20 pm on Wednesday, October 19, 2011
I don't think the home depot parking lot is an isolated area!
Russ
2:48 pm on Wednesday, October 19, 2011
According to the second linked story ,it was a shortcut path behind the Orland Park Home Depot.I have never been there but,it sounds like it could be isolated to me.
Missy
9:44 am on Saturday, November 12, 2011
Wow...her lack of good judgment huh? Well then I guess it's partly her own fault right? Her good judgment was to try to help out a fellow human being. He has been arrested over 60 times and this means that many, many judges didn't use their best judgment. This man should never be allowed to take another free step in his life. However, I'm sure due to his mental illness, he will spend some time inside taking his meds and then when he's stable again, he'll be out eventually again, just waiting for someone else to not exercise "good judgment."
Russ
10:42 am on Saturday, November 12, 2011
Missy,
Yes, she is a good Samaritan which is very commendable,but I still stand by my previous comments.If she thought the man was in danger she should have let the police handle it. If you read her account of what happened (above hyperlink 83 year old details sex assault) you might agree.She woke up a drunken homeless man to tell him she called the police.I don't know about you ,but to me that sounds like a lack of good judgement.
Deb Melchert
2:39 pm on Saturday, November 12, 2011
Russ, I have to agree with you. Missy, no one is saying the woman deserved this or it was her fault. She was attacked in a "wooded area" behind the store, not in the lot. To go into an isolated area to help a complete stranger is not the wisest of choices, regardless of how old you are. Her heart was in the right place and I believe her compassion got the best of her common sense. And we all need to remember, people of her generation grew up in a totally different world, where coming to the aid of a stranger was rarely dangerous. Not so today.