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College Town Police Sgt. Charged with Four Rapes

By Last Night in Little Rock, Section Crime in the News
Posted on Fri Jul 14, 2006 at 09:23:05 PM EST
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by Last Night in Little Rock

A police sergeant in Bloomington, Illinois, home of Illinois State and Illinois Wesleyan Universities, was charged today with four rapes dating back to 2002, according to a story via AP on CNN.com. Sgt. Jeff Pelo, a 17 year police veteran, was also charged with stalking on Wednesday "a woman who found him lurking outside her home."

Two of the rape victims identified Pelo from a photo lineup, and police found a mask, pry bar and other items in his home that appeared to have been used in at least one of the assaults, Assistant State's Attorney Mark Messman said.

Prosecutors have said the attacker was armed with a knife in one case and a gun in another.

Steve Skelton, Pelo's attorney, called Friday that the identifications were suspect.

No word about any possible DNA links to the accused, but bail was set at $2M.

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    College Town Police Sgt. Charged with Four Rapes | 3 comments (3 topical)
    Re: College Town Police Sgt. Charged with Four Rap (none / 0) (#1)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Jul 14, 2006 at 10:43:58 PM EST
    Comment deleted-- This commenter is limited to four comments a day and will be banned if he persists in name-calling and troll-like comments.

    Re: College Town Police Sgt. Charged with Four Rap (none / 0) (#3)
    by Pete Guither on Sat Jul 15, 2006 at 06:55:18 AM EST
    As much as I hate the idea, maybe I should start reading the local news. It's a little strange to come to TalkLeft and find out what's happening in my own town...

    Re: College Town Police Sgt. Charged with Four Rap (none / 0) (#4)
    by Deconstructionist on Sat Jul 15, 2006 at 07:44:54 AM EST
    "Eyewitness" identification is often very compelling in a jury's eyes (especially coming from a sypathetic victim) but it is notriously unreliable. The article is very vague as to the "other evidence" seized and the identified evidence standing alone doesn't sound that incriminating on its face to me. (Now, if the "mask" is some sort of unique or very unusual item that would make it a lot more incriminating) We also don't know the circumstances of the seizure of evidence from his home-- search warrant? plain view? consent? search incident to lawful arrest? protective sweep? NOTA?). There may well be additional evidence that is extremely incriminating, but I'd not call it close to "airtight" based on that sketchy article.

    College Town Police Sgt. Charged with Four Rapes | 3 comments (3 topical)