BLOOMINGTON - Former Bloomington police officer Jeff Pelo faces a minimum of more than 200 years in prison when he enters a courtroom Tuesday for sentencing on three dozen convictions related to the rapes of four Bloomington women. | Special section: Court documents, story and audio archive

The 43-year old former police sergeant was found guilty in June of raping four women between 2002 and 2005 and stalking a fifth woman between 2005 and 2006. The assaults took place after Pelo entered the women's homes and terrorized them for periods ranging from 45 minutes in the early attacks to two hours in the final assault.

The majority of the counts against Pelo are Class X felonies carrying possible penalties of six to 30 years each. Most of the counts involving sexual assaults require Pelo to serve at least 85 percent of his sentence.

Chief Felony Prosecutor Mark Messman who handled Pelo's case along with Assistant State's Attorney Sandra Thompson, estimated that Pelo faces at least 210 years.

The final phase of the case that began more than two years ago signals an end to a long and complicated case for prosecutors and police investigators.

"I feel good about the case and the rulings," Messman said Friday.

Before the sentencing, Judge Robert Freitag will hear arguments Tuesday on a defense motion for a new trial.

Pelo's lawyer, Michael Rosenblat, filed a motion in July outlining 100 reasons he believes the former cop should have a new trial on the charges.

The defense argues Freitag made numerous errors during the five weeks of testimony by allowing the jury to see prejudicial evidence, including violent pornography found on Pelo's home computer.

Rosenblat also criticized a pretrial ruling that barred an expert in eyewitness identification from testifying at the trial. The defense argued throughout the trial that Pelo was the victim of mistaken identity.

While the state's case against Pelo was largely circumstantial, the similarities between the five incidents spanning four years convinced jurors that the former police officer was responsible for the crimes.

Prosecutors successfully argued that the lack of DNA or other forensic evidence directly linking Pelo to the crimes was a strong indication that a person with a law enforcement background could have committed the crimes.

Among the most damaging evidence prosecutors presented against Pelo were records of license plate checks Pelo conducted on young women who later were victims of rape or stalking.

Pelo was arrested June 11, 2006, hours after he was stopped outside a woman's east-side Bloomington home by a patrol officer who responded to a call of a possible prowler. The woman identified Pelo as the man who previously followed her home from work and was confronted by her fiancée as he ran from her yard.

Court officials are anticipating a large crowd for the sentencing hearing.

The judge this week determined a specific number of seats that will be available in the courtroom for victims and their families, members of the media, police and the public. A lottery will be conducted for about 20 seats similar to the process court officials used in June when more than 80 people gathered outside the courtroom for Pelo's verdicts.