DeKalb man acquitted of rape

Gholson, 37, of the 3800 block of South Pointe Drive in DeKalb, had been accused of raping the woman at his friend’s home in Somonauk on Dec. 15, 2010, prosecutors said. The woman, who has since divorced Gholson’s friend, felt dizzy after drinking a couple of White Russian cocktails with her anxiety medication. Prosecutors alleged Gholson raped the woman after her husband left her sleeping on a couch and went to sleep upstairs.

If convicted, Gholson would have faced probation or between four and 15 years in prison.

During closing arguments this morning, defense attorney Robert Nolan argued the prosecution relied solely on testimony from the victim and her husband, who now are divorced. The victim’s testimony showed her memory was cloudy about what actually happened and whether she could prove Gholson sexually assaulted her, Nolan said.

Nolan also emphasized that the victim did not tell police about the incident for eight days.

But prosecutor Jessica Finley said that the victim waited because she was scared she would be penalized for being at her husband’s house despite an order of protection that prohibited her from being there. Her husband received the order of protection Oct. 15, 2010, after he said his wife threatened him with a loaded gun and was verbally abusive, court records show.

The mistakes the victim made — such as not telling police right away and taking medicine with alcohol despite a warning label — still do not mean Gholson was allowed to rape her, Finley said.

“It’s unfortunate the defendant doesn’t have a warning label on him,” she said.

The husband also has a hearing problem and had to cup his right ear to hear Nolan speaking, which means he could have misheard Gholson’s call allegedly admitting to the assault, Nolan said.

But, Finley argued, the husband heard loud and clear when his friend said he had sex with his wife and that “she wanted it.”