An off-duty Chicago police officer pinned down a female officer and touched her inappropriately at a party on the South Side earlier this week, Cook County prosecutors alleged today.
Judge Maria Kuriakos Ciecil set bond at $25,000 for Juan Belmontes, 34, on one count each of criminal sexual abuse and unlawful restraint.
A law enforcement source said Belmontes was celebrating his third year on the job at the party early Tuesday at a friend’s apartment in the 6600 block of South Kimbark Avenue. Police records show he was hired on April 16, 2010.
He has been stripped of his police powers while his criminal case is pending, according to his attorney.
Prosecutors said the female officer went into a bedroom to rest and that Belmontes entered the room and closed the door. When she asked him why he was there, Belmontes “told her that he came to see her,” Assistant State’s Attorney Joell Zahr said.
The two did not know each other, prosecutors said.
Zahr said Belmontes placed his hands on the woman’s chest and pressed down, restraining her as he tried to kiss her. The woman pushed Belmontes away from her and told him to leave, and he complied, Zahr said. The woman then told the others at the party about what had occurred.
The alleged victim has been an officer for more than 20 years, records show.
Belmontes’ attorney, Ronald Dahms, said his client was a Marine who served two tours of duty in Iraq and has no criminal history. A father of two children, he has been reassigned to desk duty since his arrest, Dahms said.
Belmontes, dressed in a green T-shirt and jeans, kept his hands behind his back as prosecutors detailed the allegations in court.
His mother and sister declined to comment after the bond hearing.
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