BLOOMINGTON - As the court proceedings against former police officer Jeff Pelo ended Tuesday, the women he was convicted of assaulting and stalking had the last word in statements expressing the impact the crimes have had on their lives. | Stalking victim's submitted statement (PDF) | Rape victim's submitted statement (PDF)

But victims expressed frustration with the limitations placed on their remarks during Tuesday's sentencing hearing in which Pelo received 440 years in prison.

A woman who was stalked for more than a year criticized Pelo's defense lawyer, Michael Rosenblat, for asking that portions of victims' statement be removed.

"I am so outraged Pelo and his lawyer chose to rob the victims of our opportunity to say our peace in court that I decided to make my statement public. I refuse to let him silence me," said Jonelle Galuska, the stalking victim.

All but one of the victims in the Pelo case have asked the news media to use their names.

Galuska was stalked and believes she may have been the target of a planned assault by Pelo when he was stopped outside her east-side Bloomington home on June 10, 2006. She testified at Pelo's trial that the former cop followed her from work and lurked outside her home on more than one occasion.

Galuska's full statement is available online at pantagraph.com.

Associate Judge Robert Freitag explained in his ruling Tuesday that victim impact statements should contain information about how the offense has affected the victim. Remarks about how the community was victimized by Pelo and opinions on sentencing laws were among the things Freitag barred from the hearing.

Spectators in the courtroom did not hear Galuska's painful connection to other sexual assault offenses.

"My sister, Marybeth, committed suicide less than a year after her rapist was released from prison. She ran into him in public a dozen or so times after his release. He was free well before she had a chance to come to terms with what happened to her, much less heal," Galuska wrote.

Galuska lives in Germany, but her statement was read by another person on her behalf.

Cut out of the statement of Sarah Gliege were the details of the end of her pregnancy, a loss she and her husband, Terry, attribute to Pelo. Gliege, Pelo's last victim, had learned she was pregnant just prior to the January 2005 assault.

She testified that Pelo continued his attack on her even after she disclosed her condition.

Even with portions removed, the statements were an emotional end to more than two years of legal proceedings against Pelo. Victims and family members who read the statements sometimes looked directly at Pelo as they struggled through tears to give Freitag their side of the story.