By Mary Corrado
Editor
Mario Villa, 37, of the 4300 block of S. Sawyer Ave., was arrested Monday and charged with two counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault; he is likely to be charged with seven other rapes. Bail was set at $1.5 million. He was charged with a rape that occurred in the 2000 block of N. Cleveland Ave. Feb. 7, and also a rape that took place in the 1300 block of N. Greenview Ave. in May 2002. In the Cleveland Ave. assault, the assailant entered a ground floor condo through an unlocked window about 4 a.m. and raped a 23-year-old woman, then forced her to shower, presumably to remove evidence.
In eight of the nine rapes—all since 1999—the offender entered an apartment late at night through an open window or open door. Most of the assaults occurred in the city: 1300 block of N. Dean St. in July 1999; 1800 block of N. Halsted St. in June 2003; 3500 block of N. Greenview Ave. in October 2003; 1300 block of W. Ohio St. in December 2003. A sexual abuse case in the 1200 block of W. Byron St. in October 2003 is also apparently linked to Villa.
Police review of burglary, peeping Tom, and sexual assault cases led to the suspicion of Villa and the testing of his DNA, which matches at least six rapes.
In the late 1980s, Villa served time in a Texas prison after a conviction for burglary with the intent to commit sexual assault, and a conviction for aggravated assault. He has lived in Chicago at least 10 years; he is a self-employed painter.
Victims had described the offender as a white Hispanic male, 27-33, 5'5" to 5'8", 145-160 lb.
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