No Bail for Torture Victim Now Accused of Felony Battery

Riverside, IL - Eric Caine, who was exonerated in 2011 after serving 25 years in prison for murders he didn't commit, now faces two felony charges of aggravated battery with great bodily harm.

Caine, 50 of the 400 block of N. Delaplaine Road in Riverside, was arrested in connection with Easter evening beatings that sent two men to the hospital, according to Riverside police.

He was ordered held without bail in court Tuesday.

Caine is known for receiving one of the largest settlements of any of former Chicago Police Cmdr. Jon Burge's alleged torture victims. Caine's lawsuit against the Chicago Police Department settled in July 2013 for $10 million, according to the National Registry of Exonerations.

Burge was convicted in 2010 of obstruction of justice and perjury for lying in a civil lawsuit about the torture, according to the Chicago Tribune, and he served four and a half years in prison.

Caine's current criminal history includes 15 prior arrests and convictions for theft, robbery obstruction of police, assault and traffic offenses, according to Riverside police.

Police investigating a disturbance around 10:58 p.m. March 27 arrived at Caine's Riverside home to find two battered and bleeding men standing outside.

The men, friends of Caine, told police Caine beat them after an argument in the house. Caine initially refused to talk to officers and tried to shut the door on them, police reported, but he later told police he wasn't going to say anything and to just "take me to jail."

Caine was arrested and taken to the Riverside Police Station.

Paramedics were called for the injured men, who were taken to MacNeal Hospital in Berwyn. One man had a fractured clavicle and facial bruises, according to police, and the other man had a right orbital blowout fracture and bone fractures in his face.

Police say Caine and his friends left a Chicago restaurant and went to Caine's home in Riverside, where "loud and belligerent yelling" turned into a beating.

“In this case, the victims sustained serious injuries and were treated medically by emergency room personnel and may have to have follow-up surgery as a result of the battery," said Riverside Police Chief Thomas Weitzel in a statement. "As is usual in many of these types of incidents, alcohol played a major role in the verbal argument escalating into a felony battery case in which two victims were seriously injured.”

Caine was on probation for felony traffic cases in River Forest and North Riverside when he was arrested on Easter, according to police. The Cook County State's Attorney's Office reviewed the case and approved the felony charges.

Photo courtesy of Riverside police.