URBANA, Ill. (AP) – A Champaign County judge will allow a former University of Illinois police officer accused of raping four women to proceed in his case without a lawyer. Jerald Sandage told Judge Roger Webber he understood he had a right to an attorney and that one would be appointed if he couldn’t afford one. With his ruling, Webber vacated the appointment of public defender Dan Taylor to represent Sandage. The 49-year-old Sandage of LeRoy is charged with sexual assault, sexual abuse and intimidation for alleged attacks on four women in incidents that date back to June 2012. Sandage was a University of Illinois police officer for 12 years, and resigned in February.