A former University of Illinois at Chicago student who was charged with and then cleared in a rape case in which he re-enacted scenes from the film "Fifty Shades of Grey" was back in court for allegedly sending pictures of that incident on social media.
Mohammad Hossain privately messaged a few friends four photos of his accuser "blind folded and gagged," Assistant Cook County State’s Attorney Lorraine Scaduto said.
The woman, also a UIC student, said she didn't know the pictures were being taken and did not consent to them, according to Hossain’s latest arrest report.
Hossain, 19, now faces charges of unlawfully taking pictures of the woman and unlawful dissemination of the photos.
"I’m finally satisfied — feeling accomplished," Hossain’s Facebook public page read about an hour after the pair’s encounter in Hossain’s dorm room on Feb. 21.
The woman, then 19, was naked in two of the pictures Hossain allegedly sent his friends privately. She was partially nude, wearing only her bra and underwear in the other two photographs, Scaduto said.
Results of a search warrant tied to Hossain’s Facebook account were returned to UIC officials recently, authorities said.
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Hossain, of the 6500 block of North Bell Avenue, turned himself in to UIC police on Tuesday.
He has since been suspended from UIC, his attorney Joshua Kutnick said in court.
Judge James Brown ordered Hossain held in lieu of $10,000 bail Wednesday.
Kutnick argued that Hossain has "not committed a crime," because the statute he was charged under requires that the photographs in question need to be taken outside the accused’s residence.
"It is unlawful for any person to knowingly make a video record or transmit live video of another person in that other person’s residence without that person’s consent," the statute reads.
Hossain and the woman were in his dorm room, in the 900 block of West Harrison Street, Kutnick reiterated to Brown.
"The law is on our side," Kutnick told reporters after Wednesday’s brief hearing. "We anticipate a favorable resolution in this case."
In March, Judge Peggy Chiampas released Hossain after she said prosecutors failed to meet their burden of proof in his rape case. Hossain had said the sex he had with his fellow freshman was consensual and that the pair was re-enacting a scene from the popular bondage-theme movie.
Hossain’s accuser said she met up with him in his dorm room after seeing "Fifty Shades of Grey." They had had sex previously, she testified, and while she agreed to be tied up that night, she did not consent to sex, she said.
Hossain was a biology major and still hopes to become a pediatrician, Kutnick said.
Kutnick also said his client, who stands 5 feet, 7 inches tall and who weighs 134 pounds, was a triathlete as well as a student alumni ambassador while he was at UIC.
Hossain, who appeared in court with a dark slacks and tan trench coat on Wednesday, is currently doing an internship, Kutnick said.
"He wants to go back to school," the defense attorney said.
