BLOOMINGTON - A McLean County judge on Wednesday agreed to delay the trial of a Bloomington Police sergeant accused of raping four women.

Sgt. Jeff Pelo, 41, will not be ready for the trial scheduled for Nov. 6 because defense attorney Steve Skelton will likely still be defending Amanda Hamm in the drowning deaths of her three children.

Judge Ronald Dozier granted a continuance for Pelo during a hearing Wednesday. Skelton said the case likely won't go to trial until February.

Pelo is charged in the sexual attacks against four women - all single and in their 20s - between December 2002 and January 2005.

Police arrested the sergeant, who is currently on paid administrative leave from the department, after he was seen by a police officer lurking outside a woman's home on Bloomington's east side.

The woman reported an intruder was trying to break into her home during the June incident and later identified Pelo as the man who had followed her on previous occasions.

Pelo is charged with aggravated stalking and attempted residential burglary in that case. Prosecutors have sought to consolidate the attempted burglary with the rape cases.

Dozier, who is retiring later this month, said the new judge assigned to Pelo's case later this month will have to make that decision.

Skelton, in a legal maneuver during Wednesday's hearing, asked Dozier to attribute the delay in Pelo's case to prosecutors.

Skelton said prosecutors have not finished turning over evidence against Pelo and that he has countless hours of DVD interviews of witnesses to watch.

Dozier said that's standard in major cases and denied Skelton's request. Hamm's murder trial for the drownings at Clinton Lake is set to begin Oct. 23 in Decatur and could last several weeks, Skelton said.

Pelo will make his next court appearance Dec. 15 to determine a new trial date in McLean County Circuit Court.