McHenry Co. man gets 15 years for attempted rape

A 36-year-old Lake in the Hills man accused of attacking and threatening to kill a prostitute at an Elgin hotel has pleaded guilty.

Thaddeus K. Lewis was sentenced to the maximum 15 years in prison for attempted aggravated criminal sexual abuse.

He is eligible for day-for-day credit on the sentence; he's spent about a year in jail so far.

"He did a bad thing and he's paying the price for it," said Lewis' attorney, Garry Payton. "He accepted responsibility by pleading guilty. He didn't force the victims to go through it again at trial."

Prosecutors have said that on April 9, 2007, Lewis planned to meet a 21-year-old prostitute from DeKalb at the Country Inn & Suites, 2270 Pointe Blvd., Elgin.

Lewis originally met the woman on the Internet.

But Lewis was late to the hotel, so the woman called a friend. She told her friend what room she was in and they kept the phone line free in case there were problems.

After their consensual encounter, Lewis grabbed the woman by the throat, covered her mouth and eyes with tape, handcuffed her and turned up the volume on the TV, authorities said.

He also tied her to the bed with zip ties and rope, set up a video camera on a tripod and threatened to kill her if she screamed.

Meanwhile, the friend listening on the phone became worried and called the hotel. The hotel manager heard muffled screams behind the door and called police.

Prosecutors and Payton originally presented Kane County Judge Robert Spence with an agreement for 10 years in prison.

Spence rejected that plan and Payton and Assistant State's Attorney Greg Sams agreed on the maximum sentence.

"Mr. Lewis is a very dangerous person and he needs to stay in prison for as long as he can," Sams said in a telephone interview.

Payton argued that Lewis did not have a prior criminal record and the longer sentence would hurt his wife and three children.

Elgin police found other DVDs after they arrested Lewis in April 2007.

The video camera came from a northern Kane County church where Lewis volunteered as a videographer, prosecutors said.

Elgin police reviewed the recordings and Lewis was charged with an April 30, 2006, rape in Rolling Meadows.

Lewis also faces aggravated criminal sexual assault charges in Cook County, which also carry a maximum 15-year sentence. His next court date there is June 24.

Sams also credited Elgin Detective Brian Gorcowski for a "relentless investigation" of the recordings, according to a news release.

"This included uncovering the alleged Cook County victims when all Gorcowski has was a face on a DVD," Sams said, according to the release.