BLOOMINGTON - In a courtroom overflowing with spectators and emotion, former police officer Jeffrey Pelo was convicted Wednesday of raping four Twin City women and stalking another - a decision that could mean he will spend the rest of his life behind bars. | VIDEO 1: Pelo convicted on all counts | VIDEO 2: Rape victim's reaction | Timeline

Sobs were heard throughout the courtroom from victims, their families and Pelo's wife and relatives as Associate Judge Robert Freitag read each of the guilty verdicts involving the women who were sexually assaulted between 2002 and 2005, and another woman who was stalked from 2005 to 2006.

Pelo, 43, a former sergeant with the Bloomington Police Department, was convicted of 25 counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault, three counts of home invasion, two counts of residential burglary, two counts of aggravated unlawful restraint, and single counts of intimidation, attempted residential burglary and stalking. | List of all 35 counts

When Freitag was about halfway through reading the verdicts, Pelo's wife, Rickielee, stood up and starting screaming: "He didn't do it."

Mrs. Pelo, who has a hearing impairment, was in the front row where she could watch as a court reporter transcribed the proceedings onto a computer screen.

Shayla Pelo, the couple's oldest child, and her two younger siblings also started to yell through sobs. The family was hustled from the courtroom by several police officers.

Pelo, of Downs, sobbed at the defense table as the outburst took place behind him.

His wife burst through the courtroom's double doors, screaming about "liars" as officers pulled her into a nearby conference room. Before police let her leave, she yelled in the hallway that Bloomington police led the rape victims to believe it was her husband who attacked them.

Pelo's attorney, Michael Rosenblat, said the case is not over.

"I believed before opening statements and today that Jeff Pelo is not guilty. This trial was just another step in the legal process. I look forward to filing post-trial motions and, if necessary an appeal."

He intends to argue that Freitag should not have permitted jurors to view pornographic images found on Pelo's home computer, and that a defense expert should have been allowed to testify about the reliability of eyewitness identification of suspects.

Members of the six-man, six-woman jury declined to speak with the media immediately after the verdicts were read and Pelo was led back to the county jail, where he has spent the last two years. His $200,000 bond was revoked.

Pelo is scheduled for sentencing Aug. 12.

An exact calculation has not been done on the possible sentence Pelo could receive, but McLean County State's Attorney Bill Yoder said it could be "more than a lifetime as a minimum."

"McLean County is a safer place today than it was yesterday," Yoder said outside the courtroom.

Victims relieved

For two of the four rape victims and their families who were in the courtroom, relief was evident in their faces as Freitag moved through the long list of guilty verdicts. Sarah Gliege and Andrea Lawhun, two victims who agreed to allow reporters to use their names, sat together in the front row behind prosecutors as the jury's decisions were read.

Jurors deliberated about a day and a half on the evidence and testimony they had heard over five weeks. The panel returned to the courthouse about 8:30 a.m. Wednesday and returned verdicts about two hours later.

The logistics of setting up the courtroom for the long-awaited decision took an hour as a large crowd of spectators, including police, attorneys and family members gathered outside the fifth-floor courtroom at the Law and Justice Center.

Court administrator Will Scanlon told the audience that victims, family members and media would have priority for the 60 seats. A lottery, a first for a court proceeding here, was held for the remaining 19 seats.

Yoder praised the prosecution team of Mark Messman, Sandra Thompson and Bill Workman and Bloomington police investigators who handled the case.

The investigation "was second to none, the best it could have been done in this case," said Yoder, adding that victims who came forward and testified were the key to securing the conviction. "Justice has been done for them today," he said.

"These are magnificently strong women who have been through the worst ordeal imaginable," Yoder said.

Bloomington Police Chief Roger Aikin also thanked the victims for being strong throughout the long process, noting that not all rapes are reported. The guilty verdicts against Pelo may give more women the courage to come forward in the future, he said.

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Pelo's conviction, by charge

Here are the charges former police officer Jeffrey Pelo was convicted on Wednesday:

• 25 counts, aggravated criminal sexual assault

• 3 counts, home invasion

• 2 counts, residential burglary

• 2 counts, aggravated unlawful restraint

• 1 count, intimidation

• 1 count, attempted residential burglary

• 1 count, stalking