BLOOMINGTON - The family of Jeff Pelo is struggling to start over as the former Bloomington police sergeant begins serving a 440-year prison term for rape and stalking. | Special section: Court documents, story and audio archive | Video: Pelo's police interview

For Rickielee Pelo, who has sold the family's home and lives out of the area, the process of moving forward appears stalled by anger at those who put together the case against her husband. In statements given to The Pantagraph on Friday, Rickielee Pelo disclosed she was the victim of a sexual assault as a teenager. The date rape at age 16 impacted her decision to support her husband on charges that he raped four women between 2002 and 2005 and stalked a fifth in 2005, she said.

"I think the experience affected how I reacted to the accusations against Jeff in that my decision to stand by Jeff was just that - a decision - it was more than a just a gut reaction. I could not have reached that decision to stand by him if I thought for a moment that he was guilty. I know what it (the rape) put me through and would not for a second condone standing by anyone accused of committing that if they were truly guilty," Rickielee Pelo said in one of two statements she gave to the newspaper.

She said she understands the victims' need for closure, something she said did not find after her unreported assault.

"My physical cuts, scrapes and bruises healed a lot faster than my heart and mind," she said.

Rickielee Pelo said she and her family do not believe her husband received a fair trial and that the case should have been moved out of McLean County. She said police convinced the five women involved in the 35 counts that the former officer was their attacker.

The Pelo family has been devastated by the fallout from the two-year legal battle.

"Financially, we have lost everything. Emotionally has been by far the worst. For example, some friends have left us, shunned us or ignored us. But then again, some friends have been there for us through everything," she said.

Staff at Tri-Valley schools in Downs, where the three Pelo children attended, were very supportive, she said.

Rickielee and Jeff Pelo "had an incredible 19 years together before this happened. He has never given me reason to doubt him," she said.

Among the more traumatic incidents for the family was a letter sent June 19, the day after Jeff Pelo was convicted. The writer urged Rickielee Pelo to commit suicide. She described the note as "misdirected anger."

Rickielee Pelo and her children did not attend Tuesday's sentencing, she said, because they were with her mother, who was taken to the hospital with symptoms of a heart attack.

Her husband since has been transferred to Joliet, where he will spend about two weeks in an orientation program at Stateville Correctional Center and meet with prison staff, who will decide where he will serve his life sentence.

"Everything is taken into consideration, including the individual's background and the type of offense, (is used) in our determination of what will be the best place for him," said Derek Schnapp, spokesman for the Illinois Department of Corrections.

Jeff Pelo will be allowed no visitors during the orientation process and only limited visits during a probationary period that will last about a month after he is transferred to a facility.

Inmates sentenced to Illinois prisons complete an intake process at one of four facilities based upon where they were sentenced. Stateville is the state's northern reception center.