A Blue Island man featured in “Loop puncher” videos that went viral on social media has been sentenced to seven years in state prison for crimes related to the attacks, Cook County court records show.
Derek Rucker, 37, pleaded guilty last week to aggravated battery to a peace officer, aggravated battery in a public place, aggravated battery to a transit employee and two counts of burglary.
He was arrested downtown Oct. 9 after striking a 44-year-old woman in the face in the 500 block of North State Street and causing her to fall to the ground, according to Chicago police.
He was also charged in connection with a string of other battery incidents that took place in September and October, including one involving a 40-year-old woman in the 4600 block of North Broadway, a 23-year-old woman in the 1200 block of West Loyola Avenue, a 27-year old woman in the 900 block of West Belmont Avenue and an on-duty police officer in Evanston.
The 23-year-old woman, Yara Afaneh, told the Tribune last month that she was scrolling through her phone at the Loyola CTA Red Line station on Sept. 30 when Rucker “out of nowhere” punched her in the back of the head.
Rucker was arrested that day. But Afaneh said police informed her he would be released until an upcoming court date once he got out of the hospital. It was an update that Afaneh said made her “uncomfortable.”
“It kind of sucks because it’s like multiple people have said they went up to the police when he got arrested, and they told him I’ve seen him around Loyola, I’ve seen him around this neighborhood,” she said at the time. “I stay around there, and I take the train every day to go to work, and now I just feel really uncomfortable.”
Rucker was at least the second man in recent months to have been accused of randomly punching people in Chicago. Numerous people claimed to have been victims of a “Loop puncher” in posts across social media, including Instagram, Reddit and TikTok, though it’s unclear exactly how many perpetrators there are.
William Livingston, 32, was also arrested last week and charged with two felony counts of aggravated battery in a public place for allegedly striking a 40-year-old woman and 29-year-old woman in the Lakeview neighborhood in June.
Rucker’s mother told the Sun-Times that her son has schizophrenia and needs “dire help” to treat his mental illness. She said she hopes he gets treatment in prison.
Cook County court records show Rucker has been arrested more than two dozen times in the last 20 years. Several judges have ordered mental health evaluations.