Recently in Rape / Sexual Assault Category

A former soccer player and volunteer coach at the University of Illinois at Chicago has been charged with criminal sexual assault and unlawful restraint in the rape of a 26-year-old woman, reports ABC 7 News.

Twenty-five-year-old Michael Griffin is accused of raping a woman he met at a bar several times in her Bucktown apartment, threatening to kill her and then choking her until she was unconscious, according to prosecutors.

The investigations have begun into allegations that Chicago Cubs' shortstop Starlin Castro sexually assaulted a woman three months ago, reports CBS Chicago.

Castro flew into Chicago from the Dominican Republic on Wednesday; days after news of the sexual assault allegations hit the mainstream media. Sources told CBS he has been interviewed or will be interviewed soon by detectives.

DeMarco Whitley, a former Glenbard West High School football player, was convicted of raping a 15-year-old girl. Whitley was convicted of four counts of felony criminal sexual assault and could face between four and 15 years in prison on each count.

No one disputed that Whitley, who is now 19, had sex with the unidentified girl, reports the Chicago Sun-Times. At issue was whether the sex was consensual. Whitley claims that his friend and teammate, Pierre Washington-Steele, introduced him to the girl earlier that evening and the girl agreed to have sex with the two men simultaneously in Washington-Steele’s car.

A homeless man rape of an 83-year-old woman has left the quiet Orland Park community in shock.

Last week, 34-year-old homeless man, Dennis Dodson, allegedly sexually assaulted a good Samaritan who had given him money and was trying to find him a place to live, reports the Chicago Sun-Times. The assault happened in a field behind the neighborhood Home Depot, an area nearby residents described as safe.

Online date rape. At one time, not long ago, there was a big stigma attached to online dating and people dipped their toes in slowly, expecting the worst. But as more and more couples met online, the stigma was removed, and today online dating has become an acceptable part of single life. However, the dangers of online dating have not completely been removed. After all, you are chatting with, and possibly meeting, strangers. And in some cases, your date may be a rapist.

Two Cook County women say they met public relations executive Ignacio Carrillo online and went on dates with him, reports the Chicago Sun-Times. While Carrillo seemed like a catch -- he drove a Porsche and was a vice president at Flowers Communication Group -- the man was a wolf in sheep's clothing.

Far South Side barber Wayne Smith, 25, allegedly raped a 28-year-old woman he had met on Facebook, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. He was also recently charged with sexually assaulting another victim he connected with two years ago through the famous social networking website.

A police report said the woman in the first attack, which occurred in 2009, had identified Smith in a line-up last March, but he was never prosecuted because there was not enough physical evidence to support her claim. However, the case was reopened after Smith was accused of raping another woman in his home last month.

Kathryn Vail-Wesley, 24, was indicted on several counts of sexual assault and aggravated sexual abuse for allegedly having sex with one of her students, who was then 17-years-old, in 2008. She pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated criminal sexual abuse after admitting that she did have sexual relations with the teen.

The former Near West Side Christian high school teacher was then sentenced to 24 months of sex offender probation, according to Chicago Breaking News. State’s attorney spokesperson Tandra Simonton stated Vail-Wesley, who had worked as a world religions teacher, had sex with the student at her apartment and inside the Chicago Hope Academy.

Chicago authorities arrested Larry E. Smith, 28, after an unnamed good Samaritan and his canine sidekick prevented Smithfrom sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl.

According to the Chicago-Sun Times, the 14-year-old had gotten off the bus on Diversey Avenue and was walking home when she noticed she was being followed by a man. Police said Smith immediately ran after the girl and attacked her as she desperately ran up the stairs to her apartment building. The building's owner said she heard the 14-year-old scream and saw Smith trying to kiss her. As soon as Smith tried to flee, however, he was quickly confronted by the rescuer and his Great Dane, Scooby.

Gurnee police officer Jay Simon faces up to five years in prison after he was convicted of molesting a 10-year-old girl in his home, the Chicago Daily Herald reported. But he may also be eligible for probation in his conviction on charges of aggravated criminal sexual abuse.

He was ordered held in jail until his next court date on Oct. 12, where his sentence will be determined. There were minor difference in detail between the two witnesses, who were present the night of the abuse, which Chicago criminal defense attorney Torrie Newsome said cast doubt on the charges:

"Anyone can get up here and say what they want to say. But look at the details of what they said and ask yourself 'Does this make sense?'"

Police are in the process of investigating two separately reported incidents of sexual assault near the Loyola University campus, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. Both incidents allegedly occurred in the early morning hours last Sunday, according to police.

The first reported attack involved a Loyola University student near the Lake Shore campus at about 3:30 a.m. in the 6200 block of North Kenmore Avenue, Rogers Park District police captain Roger Whalen told reporters.

The 19-year-old female victim said both she and the alleged attacker, also a student, had been drinking alcohol and had been making out in a laundry room shortly before the alleged assault occurred, he said. She reportedly pushed him away when he assaulted her and then told her roommate.