Around this time yesterday, we were reporting on a ground and air search in Highland Park for what was eventually described as a domestic-violence assault suspect – later revealed to have gotten out of jail two days after an arrest for attacking the same victim. The suspect, 25-year-old Ulises Chaires-Batalla, was charged today with four felonies. He was first booked into jail early Monday for attacking the victim in their Highland Park apartment. Court documents say his bail was set at $50,000 and he got out of jail Wednesday morning. Hours later, he was charged with assault and harassment for Monday’s attack. But by then, he had returned to the apartment, prosecutors say, pushing his way in, knocking over a baby swing holding their 3-month-old daughter, choking the victim in view of their 3-year-old and 5-year-old sons, then pulling her into a bedroom and raping her while threatening her with a box-cutter. Prosecutors wrote, “Perhaps the only thing that saved the victim was that she happened to be on the phone with a friend” when Chaires-Batalla showed up. Aware of the previous attack, the friend called 911.
During Wednesday’s attack, the court documents say, the little boys yelled at their father to “stop killing Mommy.” He fled when he heard the sirens of the police cars responding to the 911 call from the victim’s friend. In Monday’s attack, he also had choked her, and threatened to shoot her, according to those charging papers – again, in view/earshot of at least one of their young children. She waited for him to fall asleep before fleeing to a friend’s apartment in the same building and calling police. Their response included SWAT team members because she told them he had a gun; they were able to enter the apartment and arrest him. Chaires-Batalla’s bail is now set at half a million dollars.
If you are a victim of domestic violence – here are hotlines with people you can talk to now. If and when you are being attacked, you can text 911 instead of calling, if that’s safer.
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