COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — Former West Loop tanning-salon owner Marc Winner was charged in a fourth rape case Wednesday.
Prosecutors allege Winner, then 40, attacked a 30-year-old woman with a knife before sexually assaulting her inside his mother's home in the 5400 block of North Sheridan Road on Sept. 28, 2010.
Winner, now 45, was previously charged with raping three women from 2009 to 2015. In each case, the alleged victims were employees or customers at Winner's tanning salon, Soleil, 1018 W. Madison St., which was shuttered by the city in May.
In the newest case, prosecutors allege Winner began talking to the 30-year-old victim inside a Near North Side lounge after the woman's friend, whom she was supposed to meet, stood her up on Sept. 28, 2010.
The woman had met Winner before through that friend, Assistant State's Attorney Anne McCord-Rogers said during a bond hearing Wednesday.
Winner offered to buy the woman a drink, prosecutors said, but she refused since she was a recovering alcoholic. The pair continued to talk, and Winner eventually asked the woman to drive him to his mother's Edgewater home, McCord-Rogers said.
There, Winner offered the woman marijuana, according to prosecutors. She declined and tried to leave, but Winner cornered her with a knife in the living room, McCord-Rogers said.
The woman screamed for help, but Winner overpowered her and tried to sexually assault her, according to prosecutors.
At that point, the victim told Winner that if she was going to be raped, she'd like a shot of alcohol and for Winner to use a condom, McCord-Rogers said. Winner allegedly complied with both requests — offering the woman a shot of whiskey before putting on a condom and raping her.
After the attack, Winner fell asleep in a bedroom and the woman, who was drowsy, slept on a couch, prosecutors said. The victim claimed Winner tried to rape her two more times in the evening.
The woman reported the attack to police nearly two months later, on Nov. 22, 2010, prosecutors said. According to court testimony, police in December 2010 would call the victim's claim "unfounded" because she refused to cooperate with officers, and there wasn't substantial evidence.
Cook County Judge Peggy Chiampas on Wednesday set bail in the new case at $25,000. The first two rape charges, which were filed in October and April, came with a $500,000 composite bond. When the third rape charge was presented in bond court April 29, a judge denied Winner bail, dubbing him "a danger."
Winner has been held without bail in Cook County Jail, 2700 S. California Ave., ever since.
His attorney, Steven J. Weinberg, last month asked Judge Carol M. Howard to reinstate the initial $500,000 bail so that Winner may go home. (Winner initially posted $50,000, or 10 percent of the bail, and was free on bond for several months before the April 29 decision.) As of Wednesday, the judge still hasn't ruled on the motion; Winner's next court date is Aug. 17.
During a status hearing Wednesday morning, Weinberg presented a motion to dismiss the second rape charge filed against Winner.
In that case, prosecutors claim Winner raped a former employee in 2009. The case was initially dismissed in 2013 when a judge ruled there was no probable cause to pursue criminal charges. But prosecutors refiled those charges in April.
It's not clear why there was a four-year lag in filing charges after the 2009 rape, or why prosecutors waited three years to refile charges after the 2013 dismissal. Prosecutors did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
But Winner's defense attorney Jonathan M. Brayman on Wednesday slammed those delays — arguing they interfered with Winner's constitutional right to a speedy trial.
Brayman and Weinberg said they took issue with prosecutors "piling on" charges and looked forward to trying the cases in court. They believe their client will be found not guilty; Winner wants to "confront his accusers," Weinberg said.
Prosecutors are expected in coming weeks to file a response to the motion to dismiss charges, and Judge Howard will next address the motion on Aug. 17.
Related:
• Accused Rapist Marc Winner Could Face 4th Rape Case, Prosecutors Say
• City Shuts Down Accused Serial Rapist Marc Winner's Tanning Salon
• Accused Rapist Marc Winner Attacked in County Jail, Officials Say
• Accused Serial Rapist's Tanning Salon Operating Illegally, City Says
• Accused Serial Rapist's Tanning Salon Should Be Shut Down, Alderman Says
• Suspected Serial Rapist Marc Winner 'Anxious' For Trial, Attorney Says
• Tanning Salon Owner Marc Winner Raped Me in 2001 But Went Free, Woman Says
• Salon Owner Charged In 3 Rape Cases Denied Bail, 'A Danger,' Judge Says
• West Loop Tanning Salon Owner Marc Winner Charged In 3rd Rape Case
• Tanning Salon Owner Allegedly Raped 2nd Woman After Judge Tossed 2013 Case
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