Prosecutors have charged a man from Chicago, who identified himself as a security guard for prostitutes, with chaining a client to a metal pole in a basement apartment for a week. During this time, he allegedly forced the victim to liquidate his stock portfolio and withdraw over $32,000 from two banks. The victim was then reportedly beaten so severely that he sustained broken ribs and a punctured lung.
According to prosecutors, while the victim was held captive, a sex worker associated with the assailant, who was also allegedly beaten with a two-by-four while detained in the basement, assured the victim that he would become accustomed to the assaults.
Dionte Young is accused of conducting these attacks and a third assault using a two-by-four while on felony pretrial release. This incident marks him as the sixth individual accused of attempted or actual homicide in Chicago this year while awaiting trial for a felony.
The allegations span three victims over approximately five weeks, all linked to a basement apartment in the 3900 block of West Flournoy Street, which Young allegedly used as a hub for a sex work operation on the city’s West Side.
The first incident was reported on February 8, when Chicago police responded to St. Anthony’s Hospital for a battery report. The victim, who lived in the same apartment complex where Young rented a basement unit, alleged that he confronted Young about drug activity and sex workers frequenting the building. Prosecutors stated that Young, with an accomplice, allegedly struck the man with a two-by-four and stole $8 from him. The accomplice then warned the victim to have $100 ready for Young next time. The victim sustained a broken arm.
The more severe allegations arose from an incident on March 7, when a second victim visited the Flournoy address seeking Young’s sex workers’ services, a practice he had engaged in before. This time, prosecutors claim Young and the same accomplice beat the victim with fists and a two-by-four, then chained him to a metal pole. The men took his credit card, demanded the PIN, and used it at various ATMs, insisting he owed them $10,000 for previous services.
When the victim mentioned owning only stocks, Young and his accomplice allegedly forced him to liquidate the portfolio, transfer the funds to a bank account, and withdraw $15,000 in cash from one bank. They then made him withdraw another $17,000 from a second bank, according to prosecutors.
After returning the victim to the basement, they chained him to the pole again, reportedly offering him unlimited crack cocaine but denying him freedom. When he asked to leave two days later, they allegedly beat him once more.
During his captivity, the victim spoke with a woman also held in the basement, later identified as a third victim. She told him that he would adapt to being held there and that it was not so bad.
On March 14, a week after the bank withdrawals, the second victim escaped when the assailants opened the basement door. He was treated at Stroger Hospital for his injuries, including broken ribs and a punctured lung.
On the same day, police responded to a report of a woman bleeding on the Flournoy block. This woman, who had spoken with the second victim in the basement, was transported by EMS to Mt. Sinai Hospital, where she received treatment for two broken legs, a broken left arm, a broken nose, and a head laceration, according to prosecutors.
She allegedly informed investigators that she had known Young for seven years and worked for him as a sex worker. Young allegedly accused her of being short on money before beating her with fists and a two-by-four. She escaped shortly after the second victim.
Prosecutors stated that investigators linked Young to all three cases and found surveillance footage of him at the ATMs where the second victim’s card was used.
In a post-arrest interview, Young allegedly admitted to attacking the first victim on three occasions, stating he did so because the man is gay, though he denied involvement in the February 8 beating. He also reportedly told investigators he worked as a security guard for prostitutes, denying involvement in the beatings of the other two victims.
Judge Rivanda Doss Beal has detained Young, who faces charges of attempted murder, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, robbery, and aggravated armed kidnapping.
According to court records, Young resolved an attempted murder case in 2022 by pleading guilty to aggravated battery causing significant harm, receiving a 10-year sentence. In 2017, he pleaded guilty to aggravated domestic battery causing great bodily harm. His other felony convictions, dating back to 1998, mainly relate to narcotics, with convictions in 2000, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2011, 2017, and 2025.
He has been on pretrial release for a stolen motor vehicle case since September 2024.
The “not horrible” series
This report continues our coverage of individuals accused of violent acts while on pretrial release for a felony. CWBChicago began this series in November 2019 after Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans publicly stated, “We haven’t had any horrible incidents occur” under the court’s bond reform initiative.
The actual number of violent incidents committed by individuals awaiting trial for felonies is likely higher than reported. Since 2017, the Chicago Police Department has filed charges in less than 5% of non-fatal shootings and 33% of murders, based on city data. You can find all the “not horrible” stories here.
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