Bail for accused rapist set at $100K

SALEM – A Lynn man accused of raping a Salem women during a party in July will have to come up with $10,000 cash in order to get out of the Middleton Jail pending trial.Dwayne L. Dillard, 27, of 18 Richard St., #2, pleaded not guilty Friday in Salem Superior Court to a charge of rape.Judge Howard J. Whitehead set the same high bail as was previously set in Salem District Court and continued the case to Nov. 9 for a pretrial conference.The charge stems from an incident in Salem on July 29 when Dillard allegedly raped a 19-year-old girl at a home development off Olde Village Drive, which is off Highland Avenue near the Lynn line.The victim told authorities she decided to hold a party while her parents were away. She said she drank alcohol before passing out on a bed during the party and when she awoke to her cell phone ringing, she reportedly found Dillard on top of her.The person on her phone, she reported, was her boyfriend whom she went to see immediately afterward and he drove her to Union Hospital in Lynn, where they called police.Dillard, a student at Hesser College, was indicted by an Essex County grand jury last month.He is not expected to make bail, but if he does, he was ordered to have no contact with the woman or any witnesses pending the outcome of his case.A conviction on the crime could net him up to 20 years in state prison.Assistant District Attorney Melissa A. Woodward is prosecuting the case for the commonwealth.