First of all, I'd like to stanch the flow of the sheeple who claim DNA is necessary to try a rape case. Wrong. Many rapists wear condoms, many victims shower or wait too long to have evidence collected and that is their right. This rapist instead was led to justice by his own terrible sickness. He was careless enough to show his face, to let his victims hear his voice, to use computers to research rape victims (YIKES) online and surf for violent pornography and to stalk victims at all hours.
This veteran cop from Bloomington, Illinois, Jeffrey Pelo, claims his innocence and has launched an appeal after being convicted on 25 counts of aggravated sexual assault. His Stockholm Syndrome-d wife, Rickilee, sings the praises of her convicted rapist husband in a four page letter to the Judge about how wonderful and loving he is. Girlfriend, please. I know it's hard but you need to build a life of promise for yourself away from this man. Check out crime writer Gary King's terrific blog post on this crime.
The real heroes of this story are the victims who came forward, testified and allowed their names to be used in the press. Going public is such a hard choice but they did it for the same reason I did - to show they are not ashamed. We don't live in a Third World country or an extreme Muslim sect, folks. Amen to these brave and beautiful girls, Sarah Gliege and Kristy Mills of Bloomington. It is quite evident that they have suffered mightily and continue to do so. I also agree with Gliege's statement that it's sad for the innocent children of Pelo who have done nothing. Compassion should be paid to the family members who have nothing to do with the monstrous acts of their kin.
Bravo to Judge Robert Freitag, who did what Judge Edward Hogshire didn't - gave an appropriate sentence to a crime that kills a soul and allowed victims to say what they needed to say. He could have let Pelo off easily; heck, the police force that Pelo once belonged to could have swept it away, but these true jurists and officers of the law showed us what can be done with the strength of our system, with passion, integrity and the knowledge that rape is vicious and second only to murder in its severity.
A job well done by all. It doesn't make me happy to see that anyone is ever raped, but it does make me pleased to see appropriate punishment meted out in a system that has failed so many with respect to this heinous crime.
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