Trial opens for Naperville man accused of raping two children

A Naperville man accused of repeatedly raping two preteen family members sent to live with him after their mother was murdered said the abuse was a secret they should “take to the grave,” prosecutors told jurors as his trial opened Wednesday.

Christopher A. Carter, a 53-year-old former engineer, could face natural life in prison if convicted of sexually preying on both girls.

The defense contends he was falsely accused because he was a “strict disciplinarian” who meted out punishment with his hands, belts and a large, wooden paddle.

“This case is about two girls who wanted to go back to St. Louis” to other relatives, Assistant DuPage County Public Defender Brian Jacobs said in opening statements.

Prosecutors allege Carter began a “ritualistic pattern of sexual assaults” against one of the girls, then 10, almost immediately after taking custody of them in late 2004.

According to court records, the girls went to live with him after their mother was murdered in St. Louis. Prosecutors said Carter began assaulting the second victim in 2007, when she also was about 10 years old. He told the children, “This is a secret between you and me — take it to the grave,” Assistant State’s Attorney Enza LaMonica said.

LaMonica said Carter routinely “plucked” the children from their bunk beds in the middle of the night and raped them inside the apartment they shared with his mother on Naperville’s west side. The allegations surfaced in April 2008 after one of the girls reported abuse to a classmate who then told a teacher.

Investigators later obtained statements from the children and found DNA matching Carter on their underwear.

LaMonica said medical examinations also located trauma consistent with sexual assault on both victims’ bodies, while one of them still had partial DNA evidence on her the day she was interviewed.

“The evidence in this case is overwhelming,” she said. “In Illinois, there’s a word for what the defendant did, and it’s predatory criminal sexual assault of a child.”

But Jacobs said the girls were unhappy with Carter’s discipline and “concocted” the allegations in the hopes of moving back to St. Louis after coming up with the idea during a school program on sexual abuse. He said testimony will explain how Carter’s DNA could end up on their clothing without sexual contact, and show that Carter has a sexually transmitted disease while the girls do not.

Jacobs said Carter’s mother will testify she never witnessed any abuse, and Carter will also take the stand. “He’s going to tell you he never did this. This never happened,” Jacobs said.

The trial before Judge George Bakalis is expected to take about two weeks.