Suspected Craigslist Rapist Linked to 20 More Attacks - East Idaho News
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Suspected Craigslist Rapist Linked to 20 More Attacks

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032713 CraigsListRapistHome?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1364416070104ABC News(CHICAGO) — An Illinois man accused of raping five women he met through Craigslist is being investigated for potentially attacking at least 20 more women, according to authorities.

Police were searching for more of Charles Oliver’s possible victims as a judge set his bond for $3 million on Tuesday.

In a hearing on Monday, prosecutors painted a portrait of a house of horrors where Oliver attacked, photographed and videotaped hundreds of often-violent encounters, according to ABC News Chicago station WLS-TV.

Oliver, 44, of Woodstock, Ill., allegedly answered Craigslist ads for paid sexual encounters. While many of the encounters appear to have been consensual, there are now five women who claim he attacked them. Evidence from Oliver’s home has led prosecutors to believe there could be at least 20 other women who were victimized.

The women allegedly answered the ads but were then tied up, taunted, photographed or videotaped and physically assaulted, according to WLS. The attacks took place from November 2011 through early 2013.

Prosecutor Sharyl Eisenstein told the court that Oliver sometimes saved the women’s driver’s licenses and other souvenirs from the encounters, WLS reported.

He would then allegedly taunt them, saying things like, “Now you can have your picture taken and be in my collection” or calling them later to say, “I know where you live. You can’t call the police or I’ll come after you.”

Prosecutors said Oliver would lock the women in the basement first and then take them to his bedroom where he would videotape them as he forced them to perform sexual acts.

His defense attorney Mark Facchini said at a Tuesday bond hearing that in at least one of the cases, there was no evidence that the sex was forced, according to the Chicago Tribune. He said that Oliver had a relationship with one of the alleged victims.

Facchini did not immediately respond to request for comment from ABC News.

Oliver was arrested Jan. 28 after two women came forward as victims; he was released on bail. Evidence from his home lead police to three more victims and Oliver was re-arrested.

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