Crime & Safety

Updated: Waukegan Man Guilty of Highland Park Rape

The defense claimed the sexual encounter in the parking lot of the Highland Park Denny's on June 16, 2011, was consensual. Nsoni Mpulamasaka of Waukegan was found guilty Friday, Feb. 1.

Update: Sunday, Feb. 3

Nsoni Mpulamasaka, a 27-year-old Waukegan man charged with sexually assaulting an Evanston woman in the parking lot of the Highland Park Denny's in 2011, was found guilty Friday, according to the Lake County News-Sun. Sentencing is March 15. Mpulamasaka faces six to 30 years in prison.

Original post

Find out what's happening in Highland Parkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The trial of Nsoni Mpulamasaka, the 27-year-old Waukegan man charged with sexually assaulting a learning disabled woman from Evanston in the parking lot of a Highland Park Denny's in June 2011, began earlier this week.

The defense is challenging the now 41-year-old woman's claim that she was raped. Defense attorney Jed Stone is arguing the encounter in the woman's vehicle was consensual after she and Mpulamasaka spent the night performing karaoke at the Lantern in Lake Forest, reports the Chicago Tribune.

Find out what's happening in Highland Parkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Mpulamasaka, who is charged with aggravated criminal sexual assault, told police he never met the alleged victim and her friends on the night of June 16, 2011, and never followed her to Denny's, according to the Lake County News-Sun.

Following the alleged assault, the woman drove herself to Evanston Hospital, where she was treated for injuries, according to Highland Park Police as reported by Patch.

“(That night) ended in pain, fear, blood and misery after being raped by a stranger. That stranger is Nsoni Mpulamasaka,” said Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Reginald Mathews in court Tuesday, as reported by the Lake County News-Sun.

Mpulamasaka, a native of Zambia, is in the United States on a student visa to study medicine. His trial is expected to continue into next week, according to the Chicago Tribune.

On Mpulamasaka's LinkedIn page, he lists his occupation as "clinical laboratory scientist" and that his previous employers included Community Health Systems in Waukegan, Adventist Hinsdale Hospital and Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Zion.

Mpulamasaka also indicates he is studying with the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences to become a Doctor of Pharmacy from the Class of 2014.

Police Charge Waukegan Man for Sexual Assault in Highland Park


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