COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — A Chicago police officer has been put on desk duty after being accused of sexually abusing a fellow officer at a party.
Juan Belmontes, 34, is charged with criminal sexual abuse and unlawful restraint after trying to kiss another cop while holding her down on a bed, Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Joell Zahr said at a hearing Thursday.
Prosecutors said Belmontes and the other officer, who do not know each other, were at a party Wednesday at a home in the 6600 block of South Kimbark Avenue. Shortly after midnight, the woman, 59, went into a bedroom.
After she shut the door and laid down on a bed, Belmontes walked in, Zahr said. The woman demanded to know why he was there, and Belmontes told her that he'd come to see her, Zahr said.
He then put one hand on her chest, pinned her down and tried to kiss her, prosecutors said.
While defendants charged with similar crimes are often ordered to relinquish all firearms as a condition of their release, Cook County Judge Maria Kuriakos Ciesil allowed Belmontes to keep his.
"These are allegations," Ciesil said. "I don't want [this case] to prevent him from working."
Belmontes' attorney, Ronald Dahms, argued in court that his client was an upstanding citizen with two children. Dahms said Belmontes was in the Marines for 10 years and served in Iraq.
Belmontes was put on desk duty pending the outcome of the case, Dahms said.
Ciesil ordered Belmontes not to have any contact with the woman and set his bail at $25,000. Belmontes posted $2,500 bond and was released Thursday.
