Sycamore man accused of stalking woman

SYCAMORE – Police said a Sycamore man who concocted an elaborate story about being the victim of an attack early Tuesday was actually stalking a local woman.

Ryan P. Recker, 26, of the 900 block Birchwood Drive, Sycamore, was charged with stalking. If convicted, he could face one to three years in prison.

Police were called to the Sycamore State Theater, 420 W. State St., Sycamore, at 1:53 a.m. Tuesday to talk to Recker, who claimed he had been beaten up, according to a police synopsis contained in court records. Recker told police that he been jumped and beaten by two men after an argument with his girlfriend at his girlfriend’s house in Malta.

He told police that the men kicked him in the chest, punched him in the head, then drove him in his own car to Sycamore. Recker said they then left in another vehicle, according to court records.

When DeKalb County Sheriff’s deputies called the woman Recker said was his girlfriend, she told police that she wasn’t and had never been in a relationship with Recker. She also said that she had blocked Recker from calling her or contacting her through social media.

The woman told police that she had been at work when Recker called the business twice, once hanging up and once speaking with her. She said she saw Recker’s car pull into the parking lot after the calls. She said he knew when she was getting off work and that she was alone.

When the woman closed the business and walked to her car, she saw Recker following her. She then drove home, but saw Recker’s car pull up at her home shortly after. She locked the doors, and her roommate called her boyfriend to the house. She said she saw the two men talk before Recker left. She also told police that she was scared of what Recker might do because he had previously entered her home, uninvited, through the back door.

Police later arrested Recker at his home on Birchwood Drive and took him to jail.

At a bond hearing Tuesday, Assistant State’s Attorney Maribeth Ennis asked Judge Robbin Stuckert to set bond at $50,000.

“The victim is very concerned for her safety,” Ennis said.

The judge set bond at $15,000 and ordered that Recker have no contact with the woman.

Recker remained at the DeKalb County Jail as of Wednesday afternoon.

He is next due in court Dec. 9 for a bond reduction hearing.