Aurora man charged with rubbing his bare feet on library patron
An Aurora man already banned from libraries in Naperville, Wheaton and Glen Ellyn for improperly touching women's feet now is in custody after being accused of doing the same thing in Warrenville.
Omar Carlton, 44, of the 1000 block of 5th Avenue, is charged with aggravated battery in a public place after authorities said he touched a woman's feet on April 20 while at the Warrenville Public Library. He is being held on $100,000 bail.
Prosecutors said the woman was working in a library cubicle when she felt something brush against her feet several times. Authorities said Carlton, on at least four occasions, placed his bare foot on top of the woman's open-toed shoes while she was working.
The woman immediately told library staff members and they called Warrenville police, who identified Carlton as a suspect.
Carlton was out on bond at the time and facing 10 misdemeanor counts of battery, disorderly conduct, criminal trespass to a building and violation of bail bond. In that case he was accused of making "intentional or prolonged contact" with the bare feet of at least four women studying inside North Central College's Oesterle Library in Naperville.
"While in a public place such as a library, people are entitled to a certain amount of personal space," DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said in a written statement following Wednesday afternoon's bond hearing. "Any type of unwanted physical contact will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law."
Carlton has a lengthy record in DuPage, Kane and Will counties and was sentenced to prison in 1990 for robbery and aggravated battery in Kane County.
In April 2009, Carlton pleaded guilty to criminal trespass for a March 2008 case inside Wheaton College's Buswell Memorial Library, where he placed his bare feet against the bare feet of a female patron after he already had been banned from that campus.
In July 2006, Carlton had "bare foot to bare foot" contact with a female patron at Naperville Public Library's 95th Street location. A Will County judge sentenced Carlton to eight days in jail in that case.
In January 2000, Carlton pleaded guilty to misdemeanor battery and was sentenced to 10 days of community service for a June 1999 situation in which he also touched his bare feet against the bare feet of a woman in the library of the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn.
Carlton's next court appearance is scheduled for May 16 in front of Judge Liam Brennan.