COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — A Lakeview man was charged Thursday with raping a woman he met through the online dating site OkCupid.
It's the second time this year Robert Walters, 43, was charged with rape. In August, prosecutors alleged he kidnapped and raped a drunken woman who was looking for a cab near Castle nightclub in April 2013.
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On Thursday, Assistant State's Attorney Kristin Estrada laid out the newest case against Walters during a bond hearing at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse, 2600 S. California Ave.
Using the dating site OkCupid, Walters began talking to a 26-year-old woman in December of 2014, prosecutors said. The pair exchanged messages and phone numbers, and eventually agreed to meet at a Wrigleyville bar about 8:30 p.m. Dec. 23, 2014.
According to Estrada, the woman was uncomfortable with Walters' behavior throughout the course of the date.
He urged the woman to drink, prosecutors said, and began making sexual comments and demanding kisses. The woman was so uncomfortable that she began texting friends.
The woman wanted to end the date, Estrada said, but was afraid Walters would follow her home. When Walters suggested meeting a group of people at another bar, prosecutors said, the woman agreed.
Once outside, Walters tried to kiss the woman and fondle her over her clothing, Estrada said. The woman pushed off Walters, prosecutors said, and he laughed.
The woman got into Walters' car thinking he would drive them to another bar, Estrada said — but the woman soon found herself at Walters' apartment.
Walters convinced the woman to go inside, according to prosecutors, and pulled her into the apartment as she lingered near the front door.
That's when Walters ripped off the woman's clothes and proceeded to rape her, Estrada said. The woman repeatedly struggled, cried and said the word, "no."
After the attack, the woman gathered her clothing and took a cab home, prosecutors said. She immediately began texting friends about what happened and called 911 as soon as she got home, Estrada said.
A rape kit was collected at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, prosecutors said, and the woman identified Walters in a photo array in January 2015.
His DNA was collected that winter; it was eventually shown to match DNA collected in the rape kit, Estrada said. The DNA also came back as a match to the 2013 rape that began as an attack at Castle nightclub.
Walters was charged in the Castle rape in August and ordered held on $5 million bail. Cook County Judge Carol M. Howard later reduced that bail to $200,000.
Walters had posted bond ($20,000 — or 10 percent of the bail amount) and was free on electronic monitoring when he was arrested for the OkCupid rape Wednesday.
On Thursday, Cook County Judge Maria Kuriakos Ciesil set bail in the new case at $75,000. That means Walters will need an additional $7,500 to go free.
He was previously convicted of burglary in 1996.
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