Officer Steven J. Lelinski in trouble again (Pic)

[KC]

Officer Steven J. Lelinski

August 09, 2006- A veteran Milwaukee police officer already charged with sexually assaulting two women he met on duty will be charged next week in a third assault, a prosecutor said Wednesday.

The new charges stem from an incident involving a woman and officer Steven J. Lelinski in early 2005, said Assistant District Attorney Miriam Falk. These allegations are new and separate from the others disclosed earlier against Lelinski, a 16-year veteran of the force who formerly held several powerful positions.

To date, at least nine women have leveled allegations of sexual assault against Lelinski, who was suspended in February but remains on the force. An internal investigation that could result in his termination continues.

The cases of six of those accusers are all more than 6 years old, meaning they are beyond the statute of limitations and can't be charged, Falk said. However, all those allegations will be brought in as evidence of a pattern of activities in Lelinski's trial on the more recent incidents. Circuit Judge Jeffrey Wagner made that ruling in an important development in the case Wednesday.

Falk said the string of allegations, dating back to 1997, show a pattern: Lelinski met his victims on duty, targeting prostitutes, drug users and convicts whose credibility would be shaky, assaulted them and then threatened retaliation if they reported the offenses, she said.

In the most recent incidents, Falk said Lelinski assaulted women he met on routine calls, using his power to learn about warrants and other information, and then assaulting the victims in their homes.

Steven Kohn, Lelinski's attorney, said the old cases amount to the state "piling on" stale allegations from women with no credibility. He noted the six previous cases were reviewed by the same district attorney's office where Falk works and rejected by other prosecutors.

"This is not fair to the defendant," Kohn said.

Falk said she couldn't speak to why fellow prosecutors rejected the earlier cases.


Wagner's ruling and Falk's announcement of new charges were the latest blows for Lelinski, 42, who until earlier this year sat on several government and police boards.

Since he was charged, Lelinski was removed from the powerful state Law Enforcement Standards Board and the police union's executive board, and had authority stripped in two other positions: the city Pension Board and the Police Relief Association.

Lelinski, who remains free on a $25,000 signature bond, faces the most serious charges among a number of Milwaukee officers charged with crimes in recent months. Since February, at least 10 have been charged.

Since he was hired in 1990, Lelinski has been investigated by the department in connection with misconduct allegations at least 27 times - three times the average number of complaints against other officers hired in 1990 and 1991 who are still on the job, according to the department. Court records indicate there were other complaints not listed among the 27.

In the first charge brought against Lelinski, the complaint says he met a woman while on duty and then pursued her for several weeks before assaulting her on Oct. 18 in her home while he was off duty. Before he left, the complaint charges, he threw $20 on the floor and said the woman could expect to be arrested on warrants.

In the second charge brought against him, Lelinski met the woman in 2002, again on a routine call, and then frequently called her, the complaint says. Late one night when the woman was taking out trash, she encountered Lelinski - "wearing his full uniform, gun belt and gun" - standing outside her apartment door, it says.

He went into her bedroom, assaulted her and then put a $20 bill on her dresser, the complaint says.

The third accuser's story is similar to the previous cases, Falk said.

"Officer Lelinski wasn't choosing to sexually assault nuns and he wasn't choosing to sexually assault upstanding citizens," she said. "He is specifically choosing to target these women whose credibility will not stand up to his."

Lelinski's next court date is Sept. 14.

www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=481848

[WaTcHeR]

08.24.2006 - Steven Lelinski, 42, was charged Tuesday in Milwaukee County Circuit Court with fourth-degree sexual assault, a criminal misdemeanor that carries a maximum fine of $10,000 and nine months in jail.

And the police department revealed Tuesday that Lelinski, a 16-year department veteran who had been suspended with pay since the first charges were filed in February, had been fired Aug. 15.

Lelinski was charged in February with second-degree sexual assault, attempted second-degree sexual assault and indecent exposure in one case and in March with two counts of third-degree sexual assault in another case. Those crimes carry punishment totaling up to 80 years in prison.

He has denied all charges and remains free on signature bonds totaling $25,500.

The criminal complaint in the latest case said that Lelinski responded to a call from a woman fighting with her brother, and when he arrived he discovered the woman had an outstanding warrant for her arrest on prostitution charges.

After telling her she would be arrested, Lelinski asked her if she was wearing anything underneath her T-shirt, the complaint said.

After she said she was not, he allegedly grabbed her and lifted her shirt up, exposing her bare body. The complaint said he then made lewd comments and slapped her on the buttocks.

Lelinski's attorney, Steve Kohn, said the charges against Lelinski present the opportunity for anybody who might not have liked him for whatever reasons to get back at him.

The fired officer's next court appearance is scheduled for Sept. 14. Lelinski continues to receive his salary, as called for under state law, until his appeal is final.

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