Police: Woodstock man raped women he found through Craigslist
A judge will decide this afternoon whether to revoke the bail of a Woodstock man charged with attacks that occurred after he met women on Craigslist, according to court records and authorities.
Charles R. Oliver, 44, of the 400 block of West Greenwood Avenue, is in custody on numerous charges of sexual assault, kidnapping, intimidation and harassment of six different victims between November 2011 and February 2013.
Woodstock police say Oliver met five of the victims through personal ads on Craigslist, sexually assaulted them in his home and, in several cases, prevented them from leaving.
Oliver is charged with 24 counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault as well as two more counts of criminal sexual assault relating to his interactions with five different women, according to grand jury documents filed March 14 and March 21.
If convicted in all six cases and issued consecutive sentences, Oliver could be sentenced to anywhere between 31 and 142 years in prison.
The sixth case involves the husband of a woman who filed a complaint against Oliver Jan. 29, saying Oliver raped her and tied her to a chair, preventing her from leaving his home, the complaint said.
Oliver is charged with harassment of a witness, another felony, after authorities said he showed up at the husband's workplace Feb. 17 and made statements about the man's wife's case.
A message left Monday with his defense attorney, Mark Facchini, was not immediately returned.
Oliver was originally arrested Jan. 28 on charges of criminal sexual assault and unlawful restraint, according to Woodstock police. After more victims came forward he was arrested a second time Feb. 24 and sent to Cook County jail in lieu of $300,000 bail, police said.
McHenry County prosecutors have asked Judge Sharon Prather to revoke Oliver's bail and have him held in jail while the cases are pending.
Assistant State's Attorney Sharyl Eisenstein said a Monday morning hearing was moved to today at the request of Oliver's defense attorney. Eisenstein said state law permits Oliver to be held without bail based on the severity of the charges and allegation that new crimes were committed when he was out on bail.
Oliver does not have any previous felony arrests in Kane or DuPage counties, according to court records.
Woodstock police continue to investigate.
“Based on evidence that the investigators have come up with, they're continuing to check to make sure that there are no further victims,” Sgt. Chip Amati said.
Anyone with information should call the department's investigation division at (815) 338-2131.