Bond was set at $40,000 for a 32-year-old Joliet man accused of sexually assaulting a woman after luring her into his vehicle with the promise of a newspaper.



Razel O. Gates of the 1100 block of Ridgewood Avenue is scheduled to return to court June 22 on a charge of one count of aggravated battery, one count of criminal sexual abuse and one count of unlawful restraint.



Joliet Police Cmdr. Brian Benton said Gates encountered the woman on Feb. 28 trying to buy a particular newspaper at a convenience store at the intersection of Briggs and Cass streets.



When Gates learned the store didn't have the newspaper the woman wanted to buy, he told her he had a current edition in his car, Benton said.



Once in the car, Gates allegedly offered the woman a ride, but drove north-northwest two miles - the opposite direction of her destination.



The woman told police Gates stopped the car and began "climbing on top of her," insisting she fondle him. She said that she successfully exited the vehicle on her fourth attempt after picking up a set of keys dropped on the floorboard.



"She said she fled to a nearby house, but there was no one home, and then she called 911 on her cell phone," Benton said.



Because the woman didn't know where she was, police had to use her cell phone's GPS settings to triangulate her location, he said.



Police located the woman near the site of the alleged assault - the "dead-end" of the 1300 block of Fuller Avenue, near railroad tracks.



Benton said security video at the convenience store shows Gates talking to the woman, who had also picked up a receipt bearing his name as she exited the vehicle. She identified Gates from a photo lineup several weeks ago, Benton said.



During questioning, Gates acknowledged taking the woman to the location for sex, but maintained the activity was consensual, Benton said.



Gates, convicted in April of violating a city ordinance against soliciting prostitution, also stressed no money had changed hands, Benton said.



Gates' bond was set on Thursday in Will County court.



