Accused Rapist Marc Winner Takes Stairs To Dodge Media At Court Hearing

A pending case to evict accused rapist Marc Winner's tanning salon in the West Loop was continued Thursday.

DNAinfo/Stephanie Lulay; Chicago Police Department

WEST LOOP — Appearing in court on a pending eviction case, accused rapist Marc Winner avoided the media by taking the stairs at the Daley Center.

Landlord Van Tomaras aims to evict Winner's now-shuttered Soleil tanning salon from the storefront at 1018 W. Madison St. The case, being heard by Judge John J. Curry Jr., was continued Thursday.

Accused of raping at least four women, Winner was released on bond last month, making a dramatic exit from the Cook County Jail. Upon release, Winner ran through oncoming traffic, cutting between cars, to avoid a gaggle of reporters.

Instead of riding the elevator from the first floor up to the 14th floor courtroom at the Daley Center Thursday, Winner took the stairs, evading an ABC-7 TV camera and DNAinfo Chicago reporter in the process. Cameras were not permitted in the courtroom, and Winner only briefly left the courtroom to discuss the pending case with his attorney.

After the case was continued, Winner, flanked by his attorney, swiftly exited the courtroom and retreated back down the stairwell.

Accused serial rapist Marc Winner in court on West Loop tanning salon eviction case #westloop pic.twitter.com/Zw4719Z8Q3
— Stephanie Lulay (@slulay2) September 1, 2016

When ABC-7 investigative reporter Chuck Goudie attempted to interview Winner outside of the Cook County courthouse in April, Winner shoved Goudie, exclaiming: "Go f--- yourself."

In the eviction lawsuit, landlord Tomaras alleges Winner, an owner of the business, used the leased storefront in the commission of a criminal act, against state rules. The specific acts included sexual assault, the lawsuit alleges, noting that at the time the initial suit was filed in May, Winner had been arrested and charged with sexually assaulting three women between 2009 and 2015. Since then, prosecutors have filed charges in a fourth rape case.

Attorney Cary Schiff, representing Tomaras, said Winner also now owes $25,000 in back rent.

Winner's attorney, Robert J. Shelist, said the landlord's complaint is "pure conjecture" and not based in fact. He further argues that the criminal charges do not claim the alleged sexual assaults took place at the tanning salon.

Winner is next slated to appear in court on the West Loop eviction case next month.

Earlier this month, Tomaras described Winner as "forceful," "aggressive," "obnoxious" and "provocative," but said he never thought Winner would be charged with rape.

The tanning salon closed

In late May, the city's Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection shut down Soleil Tanning for operating without a business license.

The Tanning Solutions LLC has also been involuntarily dissolved by the state, Schiff said.

Winner was being held without bail in the third case until last month, when his total bond was set at $625,000, and he posted $62,500 to go free.

Winner will next appear in court on criminal charges Sept 15 before Cook County Judge Carol M. Howard.

^{Soleil, a Marc Winner tanning salon, is located at 1018 W. Madison St. in the West Loop. The business was shut down by the city in May. [DNAinfo/Stephanie Lulay]}