A man with a documented history of randomly attacking women across downtown Chicago has pleaded guilty to 11 counts of aggravated battery, closing out a string of cases that stretched from the Loop to Wicker Park. William Livingston's plea covers attacks including the August 2025 beating of Kathleen Miles, who was knocked unconscious as she walked past Block 37 toward Union Station.
Miles suffered several broken bones in her face and a concussion when Livingston punched her, according to ABC7 Chicago. The station reports Livingston will return to court for sentencing on December 1. His guilty plea adds to an already long rap sheet: Chicago Police Department records show he has been arrested at least 20 times since 2012, generating 13 mugshots primarily tied to aggravated assault and battery charges against women and law enforcement officers, according to CBS Chicago.
A Decade of Arrests, Short Sentences, and Repeat Attacks
Livingston's pattern dates back to at least 2022, when he was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to randomly attacking and attempting to rob four women in the Loop within a single 20-minute span, per CWB Chicago's coverage from that August. He was later released on parole, only to be arrested again in 2023 for punching a woman on North Michigan Avenue. In 2024, he served 100 days in jail for elbowing a 15-year-old girl in the face, the station's report notes.
Those post-release incidents, both in high-foot-traffic commercial corridors, foreshadowed a more serious wave of charges last year. In November 2025, Chicago police charged Livingston with two felony counts of aggravated battery stemming from attacks on two women, ages 40 and 29, along the 2700 block of North Clark Street on June 12, 2025, according to the same CBS Chicago account. One of those victims suffered a neck injury and a concussion.
Wicker Park Assault Caught on His Own Phone
The following month, prosecutors tacked on another aggravated battery charge after a July 2025 assault in Wicker Park, in which Livingston allegedly recorded himself on his phone while punching a 37-year-old woman in the face, according to CWB Chicago. The victim fell and suffered visible facial injuries and abrasions to her hands, the outlet reported.
The August 2025 attack on Miles drew its own measure of public attention. A passing Illinois state senator wrapped Miles' bleeding head in his shirt at the scene, and city officials only released surveillance footage of the attack months later, after an order from the Illinois Attorney General's Office, CWB Chicago reported. City agencies had originally denied public-records requests for the footage.
Detention Fight Preceded the Plea
Cook County Circuit Judge Rivanda Doss Beal ordered Livingston held in county jail without bail in September 2025. Prosecutors then secured a direct grand jury indictment in November 2025, according to CBS Chicago's reporting at the time.
Livingston faces 11 aggravated battery counts.
Random Attacks in Chicago
Chicago Police Department data showed reported aggravated batteries hit a five-year peak during the 12 months through February 2025, with more than 27,500 total violent crime reports recorded citywide, according to Illinois Policy, which found Black Chicagoans were victims in 62% of aggravated battery cases.
