BLOOMINGTON - The conviction of former Bloomington police officer Jeff Pelo is going to appellate court after a judge denied his request for a prison term shorter than the 400 years he received for raping four women. | VIDEO: Inside the Investigation: Part One | Part Two

The former police sergeant was brought to McLean County Circuit Court on Monday in an oversized yellow prison jumpsuit. He waved to his daughter, Shayla Pelo, as he shuffled into the courtroom, his legs shackled at the ankle.

Defense lawyer Michael Rosenblat argued that consecutive prison terms for sexually assaulting four women between 2002 and 2005 and the stalking of a fifth woman from 2005 to 2006 were excessive and inappropriate.

Mark Messman, the county's chief felony prosecutor, objected to any reduction in Pelo's sentence.

Associate Judge Robert Freitag said his decision in August to send Pelo to prison for what amounts to several life terms should not be changed.

Jeff Pelo

"The court finds and stands by the finding that consecutive sentences were necessary to protect the public," said Freitag.

With the verdicts and sentence unchanged, Pelo's lawyers will file an appeal with the 4th District Appellate Court. The appellate defender's office will handle the defense side of the appeal and appellate prosecutors will represent the state.

After the hearing, Rosenblat said Pelo is looking forward to the next phase in the criminal case.

Pelo remains in Joliet's Stateville Correctional Center, where new inmates are placed for orientation to the state's prison system. Finding a suitable prison assignment for the former cop has problem difficult, said Rosenblat.

"They're having a hard time placing him. He knows so many people," said Rosenblat.

Pelo's history as a police officer is one of several factors the Department of Corrections will consider in placing Pelo, said Derek Schnapp, spokesman for the Illinois Department of Corrections.

"We factor in many variables. Safety and security is number one and what we feel is the best fit for the individual," said Schnapp.

The trial that started in April and ended in June with 35 guilty verdicts against Pelo was a complicated legal endeavor, said Pelo's attorney. The four sexual assault cases were combined with the stalking case into one trial involving more than 60 witnesses and than 11,000 pages of documents.

"I'm sure O.J. Simpson's murder case didn't have that many documents or witnesses," said Rosenblat.