Posted on 07/14/2006 3:26:06 PM PDT by prairie dog
Pelo charged with sex assaults
By Pantagraph staff Advertisement Bloomington Police Sgt. Jeff Pelo, 41, and his wife, Rickielee Pelo, arrived the Law & Justice for his arraignment June 23,2006. Pelo was formally charged with aggravated stalking Thursday, June 15, 2006, in connection with a Saturday, June 10, 2006, attempted burglary at a home on Bloomington’s east side according to court records. UPDATED: 1:23 p.m. BLOOMINGTON -- Bloomington police Sgt. Jeff Pelo was charged Friday afternoon in McLean County Circuit Court with four counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault and two counts of home invasion. It wasn't immediately clear if the assault and home invasion charges were related.
Bond was set at $2 million, with Pelo required to post 10 percent, or $200,000, in order to be released from jail. Until this morning, he had been free after paying 10 percent of a $300,000 bond set regarding charges of attempted residential burglary and aggravated stalking.
Pelo, 41, faces those charges in connection with an incident last month when he allegedly stalked a woman at least twice before trying to break into her home. Indicted on those charges Wednesday, Pelo was arraigned this morning and pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors allege the sex assaults took place between December 2002 and January 2005, and said victims identified Pelo as their attacker through photographs and voice identification.
Prosecutors said some of the attacks were at knifepoint; one victim was threatened with being shot. In another instance, prosecutors alleged, Pelo threatened the woman's family and recited their address to her.
Court documents say a search warrant at Pelo's house found various items common to one or more of the assaults, including a mask, a pry bar and items that could be used to bind someone.
Pelo and family members previously have said he was looking at a home to buy for his mother-in-law, and looked at night because he had trouble sleeping after spending years working the night shift.
Pelo was arrested on the new charges when he appeared at the arraignment.
While no other information is yet available, the Pantagraph reported after his June arrest that Pelo was a suspect in a series of unsolved rapes in the Twin Cities dating back several years.
He has been on administrative leave from the department since his initial arrest on June 11.
Well, depending on the landscaping and lighting, some houses look more attractive at night;)
Suspended with pay I assume?
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