The charges against 33-year-old McWilliams date back more than a decade. After the judge read the charges against him, the prosecutor included the graphic details of each case, in which police painted McWilliams as a monster, claiming that on more than one occasion he used a butcher knife to intimidate his victims.
The prosecutor said, "He held a large butcher knife in his hand as though he were going to stab the complainant. He told the complainant to get in his vehicle or he would gut her."
Four of the alleged rapes McWilliams is charged with occurred in the past three years. A fifth case is from June 1996. McWilliams and an alleged accomplice are accused of beating up and raping a 13-year-old girl they allegedly snatched off the street.
"The complainant says she attempted to resist," the prosecutor said. "The suspects held her down and hit her with their fists."
While at least two victims identified McWilliams by photos, police say DNA strings all of the cases together. McWilliams' attorney not only criticized the DNA evidence collected, he says he wants to challenge it. Attorney Eric Davis asked, "Who did the DNA analysis? Was it HPD that did the DNA analysis in the case? How was the DNA evidence collected? Where was it collected from? We didn't hear any answers to any of those questions from HPD."
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