36 years for Woodstock Craigslist rapist
A Woodstock man who raped and terrorized women he met and paid for sex after meeting them on Craigslist was sentenced to 36 years in prison Thursday,
Charles Oliver, 45, faced prison after a jury convicted him last February of raping and attacking a 22-year-old Chicago woman in late 2012.
Oliver, who was charged with seven other sexual assaults, also pleaded guilty last March of sexually assaulting a woman from Huntley in January 2013 in exchange for prosecutors dismissing the other six cases.
McHenry County Judge Sharon Prather said Oliver met the definition of a true "predator."
"You made a choice to prey on vulnerable young women," said Prather, noting she had the "displeasure" of watching many of Oliver's sex videos including ones not played in court.
"I saw the fear and terror in the faces of many of those women. You, sir, are a danger to society," Prather continued.
In the case of the Huntley woman who was attacked in January 2013, Oliver took her to a laundry room in his basement, pushed and threatened her. She eventually scratched him when they were having sex and later escaped from his car, police said.
The woman went to police and authorities obtained a search warrant for Oliver's home.
Police discovered the basement room, which locked from the outside, and a collection of DVDs Oliver made of his victims as well as their driver's licenses.
In the February trial, the Chicago victim testified she met Oliver on Craigslist and agreed to have sex with him for $200.
He picked her up at a train station, drove her to his Woodstock home, and took her naked to the basement laundry room.
There, he shoved her to the floor, told her things were going to go "his way," and made a video of them having sex.
On the video, which was played for jurors, the woman can be heard whimpering and Oliver saying there's nothing to be scared of.
During Thursday's hearing, Woodstock Police detectives testified they had still not located nor identified at least two women in Oliver's videos.
Prosecutors also played a taped phone call Oliver made from jail in which he lamented that a woman could withdraw consent for sex at any time and said he should have killed his victims because it would have been "easier."
"The defendant is a threat to the community," said Assistant State's Attorney Sharyl Eisenstein, who pushed for a 61-year term. "He was choosing them for a reason. He didn't think they would make good witnesses. He didn't think they would appear in court."
Defense attorney Jeff Altman asked for the minimum 20-year sentence.
"These women were prostitutes. They agreed to accompany Charles to his residence and engage in sexual intercourse," Altman said, adding that when Oliver became belligerent, "They didn't like him anymore. They withdrew their consent and now Charles is wrong."
Oliver, who did not address the court Thursday, must serve 85 percent of his sentence. He faced a maximum sentence of 120 years and gets credit for about 16 months in jail while the cases were pending.