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'Rid This Cancer': West Loopers Relieved As Serial Rape Suspect Evicted

By Stephanie Lulay | December 21, 2016 6:37am
 Serial rapist suspect Marc Winner was spotted moving tanning beds from his West Loop tanning salon Tuesday.
Serial rapist suspect Marc Winner was spotted moving tanning beds from his West Loop tanning salon Tuesday.
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DNAinfo/Stephanie Lulay; Cook County Sheriff's Office

WEST LOOP — After being evicted from his storefront, accused serial rapist Marc Winner was spotted outside his Madison Street tanning salon Tuesday.  

Accused of raping at least four women, Winner is free on bond, but prosecutors have called him "a real and present threat to the physical safety of any woman." 

Tuesday afternoon, the 45-year-old Winner was spotted at the former salon, 1018 W. Madison St, moving tanning beds into rental trucks parked outside. 

Earlier this fall, landlord Van Tomaras worked to evict Winner's now-shuttered Soleil tanning salon from the storefront. A judge granted the eviction, and Winner has to leave the building by Dec. 31. 

After spotting reporters Tuesday afternoon, Winner hid inside the former salon. At one point, he asked Tomaras to let him leave through the back of the building, but Tomaras refused. For the next few hours, Winner played a cat-and-mouse game with reporters, at times peeking out of windows, and then retreating from view in the former salon. 

But with his 7 p.m. court-ordered curfew looming, Winner left the building at 6:10 p.m., running through traffic on Madison Street. He then crossed back across Madison and fled north on Morgan Street on foot. 

Winner declined to talk to reporters. 

Serial rape suspect Marc Winner was spotted moving tanning beds out of his West Loop tanning salon Tuesday. [DNAinfo/Stephanie Lulay]

Chris Sporina, who lives above the former West Loop tanning salon, said neighbors were "uncomfortable" with Winner's presence in the building Tuesday.

Sporina has had problems with Winner for more than a decade, he said. 

"It was just very disturbing that it has taken so long. The city and everybody knew that something was going on," Sporina said. "We failed as a community to rid this cancer." 

Tomaras said Tuesday that Winner's move-out will bring closure to the neighborhood. 

"Evidently, they intend to move out before the deadline. So it's a good thing," Tomaras said. 

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

Dramatic exits 

Winner was released on bond in August, making a dramatic exit from the Cook County Jail as he ran through traffic, cutting between cars to avoid reporters. 

Winner has had other run-ins with the media. When ABC7 investigative reporter Chuck Goudie tried to interview Winner outside the Cook County courthouse in April, Winner shoved Goudie, exclaiming: "Go f--- yourself." 

At a September court hearing, Winner did his best to avoid reporters again by taking the stairs instead of riding the elevator from the first floor up to the 14th-floor courtroom. 

In late May, the city's Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection shut down Soleil Tanning for operating without a business license. Tanning Solutions LLC has also been involuntarily dissolved by the state. 

RELATED: Tanning Salon Owner Marc Winner Raped Me in 2001 But Went Free, Woman Says

Winner was being held without bail in the third case until August, 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 Thursday before Cook County Judge Carol M. Howard.

To learn more about Winner's pending cases, read:

• Marc Winner Raped Me And Got Away With It, Woman Alleges On National TV

• Accused Rapist Marc Winner's Landlord Speaks Out: 'It Was A Shock'

• Marc Winner Raped Woman In His Mom's Edgewater Home, Officials 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 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

• Tanning Salon Owner Allegedly Raped 2nd Woman After Judge Tossed 2013 Case

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