Convicted Lake County rapist gets 14 years

An Antioch Township man convicted of sexually assaulting and beating his fiancee was sentenced to 14 years in prison Friday.

Christopher Schnider, 37, showed no emotion as Lake County Circuit Judge George Bridges handed down the sentence, which was less than the 22 years prosecutors had sought.

Schnider will get 16 months reduced from the sentence for time already served while awaiting trial.

Schnider was convicted in July of the attack last summer on his longtime girlfriend, with whom he has four children.

A jury found him not guilty of attempted first-degree murder.

Prosecutors said Schnider attacked the victim with a baseball bat, threatened her with a reciprocating saw, subdued her with belts and duct tape and raped her.

The victim initially said she was raped, prosecutors said, but she later testified the sex was consensual.

In an impassioned final argument before the sentencing, Lake County Assistant State's Attorney Danielle Pascucci painted Schnider as a violent man who's repeatedly been abusive of women, has put his children in danger's way and has refused to accept accountability for his actions.

"This defendant is a bully," Pascucci said. "He picks on women. He picks on people littler than him."

Lake County Assistant Public Defender Sharmila Manak blamed Schnider's childhood, which included physical and emotional abuse from his parents and stepmother, for his actions as an adult.

"He is not a criminal," Manak argued. "He is not a threat to society."

Schnider spoke during Friday's hearing, too. Occasionally choking back tears, he apologized to the victim for his actions and talked at length about his cruel childhood.

"I will spend the rest of my life making this up to our family," Schnider said. "The pattern of abuse stops now."

Bridges didn't buy it.

"This is nobody's fault but yours, Mr. Schnider," he said. "You are very violent. And when you are around women, you are extremely violent."

Even so, Bridges said he sees some hope in Schnider and urged him and his children to seek psychological counseling.

Bridges said he hopes Schnider's children won't continue the family's cycle of violence.

He rejected a request from Manak to allow the victim to see Schnider before he goes to prison.

Schnider's relatives packed the courtroom gallery to hear the sentence. Some wept outside the courtroom afterward.

Following the hearing, Pascucci said the state's attorney's office is concerned for the family's safety after Schnider's eventual release if he does not take advantage of counseling.