BLOOMINGTON - Twelve jurors and an alternate have been seated for the rape and stalking trial of former Bloomington police Sgt. Jeffrey Pelo, but the judge and attorneys still need to select two more alternate jurors.

Five men and seven women will hear the case against Pelo, and one man already has been chosen as an alternate.

Pelo, an 18-year member of the police department, is accused of raping four women between 2002 and 2005. He also is accused of stalking a fifth woman between 2005 and 2006.

The first round of questioning for three alternate jurors started late Wednesday afternoon. They would attend the trial and be ready to take the place of a seated juror who would have to be excused for some reason.

Defense attorneys Michael Rosenblat and Erica Longfield and Chief Felony Prosecutor Mark Messman will ask questions of six jury candidates when proceedings open today.

Following a decision on alternates, McLean County Circuit Judge Robert Freitag will hear final pretrial motions regarding evidence the defense hopes to bar from the trial. That evidence includes material investigators found on Pelo's home computer.

Opening statements are expected Monday.

No hearing is scheduled for Friday.

After defense attorney Michael Rosenblat exhausted his preemptory challenges Wednesday, he asked for a change of venue, claiming he had no options left for removing potential jurors who had seen news coverage of the case. Freitag denied the motion, saying he did not find pretrial publicity in the case to be prejudicial.

Three potential jurors were excused Wednesday from service on the panel. Illness of family members, friendships with the family of a witness and an inability to be fair and impartial were the reasons the three were excused.

The jury now has five State Farm Insurance Cos. employees, a Country Financial worker, a retired newspaper employee, a Danvers resident who works for local government and a nurse. Others on the panel include a retired county worker, a state correctional officer and a teacher.

A total of 44 people have been questioned over three days for the Pelo jury.