Jury deliberations to continue Monday in Wheeling rape case

Rapist. That’s how Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney Mike Andre described Matthew Schaffer, a Highland Park man authorities say raped and robbed a woman at gunpoint and knife point during a Wheeling home invasion last year.

Liar. That’s how defense attorney Darryl Goldberg described Schaffer’s accuser, a 31-year-old physician who lives out of state and was staying with friends at the time of the alleged attack.

The exchange unfolded Friday morning during closing arguments in Schaffer’s trial on charges of aggravated criminal sexual assault, home invasion and armed robbery. Deliberations continued into Friday evening.

At 5:10 p.m., jurors sent the court a note indicating they were split on all three counts. Judge Hyman Riebman sent back a note asking them to continue deliberating. Jurors sent another note at 9 p.m. indicating no change, prompting the defense to request a mistrial, which Riebman denied.

“Their note did not indicate they are deadlocked,” Riebman said. “This was a trial that went on five days and had over 60 exhibits. I think it’s time to recess for the day.”

At 9:45 p.m., about nine hours after deliberations began, Riebman sent the jurors home and ordered them to return at 9 a.m. Monday to resume deliberations.

During closing arguments, prosecutors dismissed Schaffer’s defense that the woman — whom he claims he met in December 2009 when he sold her marijuana — invited him to the condo where she was staying to engage in a robbery/rape fantasy he said she wanted to act out.

“She wanted it? That’s what the defendant wants you to believe. She wanted it?” said Andre, who called Schaffer’s assertion absurd, ridiculous and a lie.

Wearing a pantyhose mask, Schaffer broke into the home, handcuffed the woman, held a gun to her head, menaced her with a knife and repeatedly threatened to kill her, Andre said. He then ripped her clothes off and sexually assaulted her, Andre said.

That is not a fantasy, he said. It is a “nightmare personified.”

Goldberg agreed. Schaffer is living “every man’s worst nightmare” of being falsely accused by a manipulative woman, said Goldberg, calling the woman a Dr. Jekyll and Miss Hyde. He insisted the sex was consensual, that the woman, who is married, invited Schaffer in. She made up the story because she feared the personal and professional reprisals if her “eccentric sexual tastes” became known, Goldberg said.

Andre disputed Schaffer’s claims that the woman invited Schaffer to the condo then told him to climb up the balcony because she didn’t want him to disturb the homeowners by using the front door. This was not a case of Juliet waiting for her Romeo, Andre said. “What he told you is complete and utter nonsense,” Andre said.

Moreover, the evidence links Schaffer to the crime, Andre said. That evidence includes: Schaffer’s DNA recovered from the woman’s T-shirt; the .380 replica handgun and women’s pantyhose found in his car; lying about where he was the night of the attack; a receipt that included his name and address, from a Chicago shop where he pawned a Cartier watch he stole from her; and his statement to a detective that “I should have killed that girl.”

“It’s your time to stand up, to stand tall, to stand proud, to stand united and give (the woman) her dignity back and give her justice,” Andre said.

Goldberg denied his client made any statement to police. He referenced discrepancies in the woman’s testimony, saying her description of the attacker doesn’t match his client. He questioned why she took a shower before telling anybody about the attack, when she knew it could destroy evidence, and why she did not agree to a sexual assault exam.

No one “gets to question her choices,” Andre bristled. “She made the decisions she made to get through the most horrible experience of her life.”

On rebuttal, Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney Mike Clarke responded to the defense’s claim of a frame-up with two words: Bull. Loney.

“If it was a frame-up, why didn’t (the complaining witness) point out the slit?” said Clarke, referencing a 3½-inch slice in the sliding screen door, which authorities say Schaffer made to unlock the screen and enter the home.

“Few people know what it’s like to go through what (the woman) went through,” Clarke said, adding that it’s not unusual for a person who has been traumatized and sexually assaulted to decline an invasive exam.

“She is a true hero in this case, and the Wheeling Police Department should be commended for their investigation,” Clarke said.

“(Schaffer) by his horrendous actions has earned the charges in this case. He has earned a seat in this courtroom as a defendant in a criminal trial,” Clarke said. “And he has earned a guilty verdict.”