Judge in Pelo's case denies request for access to videotape
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<p align="left">A McLean County judge has denied an attorney's request to give the public and media access to a witness's videotaped testimony in the case of a former Bloomington police sergeant charged with rape and stalking.
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<p align="left">Jeff Pelo, 43, is charged with sexually assaulting four women between December 2002 and January 2005 and stalking another. He has been held in the McLean County Jail since his arrest in 2006.
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<p align="left">Media attorney Don Craven argued Monday that a witness's taped deposition should be made available to the press.
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<p align="left">Judge Robert Freitag denied Craven's request and said the tape should not be shown until it is presented as evidence before a jury.
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<p align="left">Freitag granted defense attorney Michael Rosenblat's request to have Pelo's handcuffs and leg restraints removed during future court hearings. Freitag agreed with the defense that Pelo is not a flight risk. Pelo has appeared in restraints in court hearings since being charged with the sexual assaults.
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