Orland Park Drifter Pleads Not Guilty to Rape, Assault
Prosecutors continue to gather evidence, prepare to test DNA samples.
A drifter accused of violently molesting an 83-year-old Good Samaritan and threatening a man behind the Orland Park Home Depot this summer pleaded not guilty on Thursday. Dennis Dodson, 35, has been charged with aggravated criminal sexual assault, a Class X felony, and assault. Prosecutors allege that, in September, Dodson wrestled an elderly woman to the ground—forcefully inserting his finger—behind the Home Depot, at 159th Street and Harlem Avenue, where he was living at the time. She had offered Dodson food and crackers two days prior, and returned to tell him she was working to find him a shelter. Orland Park police say Dodson verbally threatened a Home Depot employee, one month prior. His rap sheet includes 60 arrests in 15 states. In…
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