Accused Serial Rapist Is Caught at O'Hare Airport in Chicago: 'Went Out Hunting for His Victims'

An alleged serial rapist who “went out hunting” for at least five sexual assault victims in the Chicago area for the last three years has been arrested, authorities said.

On Friday, April 4, limo driver Chakib Mansour Khodja, 36, of Chicago, was taken into custody at O’Hare International Airport when he returned from a trip to his native Algeria, ABC7 Chicago reports.

He is charged with 18 counts including aggravated criminal sexual assault with a weapon, aggravated criminal sexual abuse resulting in bodily harm, aggravated kidnapping and attempted home invasion in connection with the sexual assaults of at least five women between May 2022 and February 2025, the Chicago Police Department said in a release obtained by PEOPLE.

“The city is safer today,” Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke said at a press conference Monday. “Every single woman in this city, every single man who has a wife, a mother, a daughter, a sister should all be breathing a sigh of relief. This man was a violent serial predator who literally went out hunting for his victims.”

Khodja, who lives in Chicago with his wife, is accused of preying on women ages 21 through 36 in a “horrific” series of assaults, said police, ABC News reports.

In an incident on Jan. 18, a woman told police she was walking home when she noticed a man dressed in all black, wearing socks but no shoes and a hood and mask, following her, police said, NBC5 Chicago reports.

The man allegedly grabbed the woman from behind and held a knife to her side before assaulting her on the sidewalk, police said, ABC News reports.

“These women survived something that was horrible and terrible and it’s something that they will continue to live with throughout the rest of their days,” CPD Superintendent Larry Snelling said at the press conference.

Video surveillance and DNA evidence helped investigators link Khodja to the alleged assaults, police said.

Authorities believe there could be more victims who haven’t yet come forward.

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Anyone in need of assistance is asked to call the 24/7 Chicago Rape Crisis Hotline at (888) 293-2080.

Khodja is being held without bond pending his trial.

His public defender was not immediately available for comment.