Marc Winner, the owner of a tanning salon in Chicago’s West Loop, has been charged in a third rape case, according to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office.
Winner, 45, was recently charged with three felony counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault and aggravated criminal sexual abuse.
Winner, who owns Soleil Tanning Salon, faced previous sexual assault charges for incidents in 2013 and 2015 as well, according to records.
He was accused of sexually assaulting one of his customers in October 2015 after prosecutors said he allegedly took a woman to his West Loop apartment, held her down and assaulted her.
Winner was charged in November 2015 with 20 felony counts of aggravated kidnapping, aggravated criminal assault, aggravated criminal sexual assault, aggravated battery by strangulation and unlawful restraint.
He also faced criminal sexual assault charges in 2013, though a judge at the time found no probable cause and dismissed the case.
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The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, however, says there are currently three active rape cases against Winner.
Winner's attorney Steven Weinberg, said he plans to "try our case in the courtroom."
"We are going to wait for our opportunity to try our case in the courtroom," Weinberg said in a statement. "We do not convict people based on the quantity of witnesses, but based on the quality of evidence. When these cases are tried in the courtroom, you will see that the evidence will come out and Mr. Winner's favor."
One woman, Leslie Barton, who once lived in Glenview, also accused Winner of assaulting her in 2001, when she was 36 years old.
According to a police report, Barton told authorities she was attacked by Winner while inside a tanning salon in Glenview, where she believed Winner worked at the time.
Barton said inside one of the tanning rooms, Winner “picked her up and threw her backwards and down onto a tanning bed causing her to strike her head and back on the bed.”
After that, Barton attempted to get off the bed, but Winner grabbed her around her throat and started choking her, slamming her head onto the bed, the report states.
"He grabbed me and said you're not going anywhere," Barton said. "I kept saying 'I don't want this' and then he starts strangling me."
After that, Winner allegedly pulled down Barton’s pants and raped her, the report states.
Winner was ultimately charged with battery in 2001 and sentenced to supervision, Barton said.
"I screamed it from the rooftops no one listened, and to hear this come out 15 years later?" Barton asked. "This horrible person, this monster, fell through the cracks over and over again."
Further details on the latest charges weren’t immediately known. Winner is expected to appear in bond court Saturday.
