Former Batavia officer admits domestic abuse
A retired Batavia police officer who also served as Kane County Sheriff Don Kramer's campaign manager pleaded guilty Thursday to misdemeanor domestic battery and was admitted into the county's deferred prosecution program.
Dennis J. Harper, 55, formerly of Sugar Grove, was arrested in February 2014 after his now ex-wife told authorities he tried to choke her after she said she was going to file for divorce, according to court records.
Harper, who also owns the Drive Home Safe Driving School in Geneva, pleaded guilty to grabbing his wife, prosecutors said.
If he completes the deferred prosecution program for first-time offenders, prosecutors will vacate the guilty plea and Harper's record will be wiped clean.
A message left for Harper's defense attorney, Lisa Accardi, was not returned.
According to court records, Harper was charged with the Feb. 16, 2014 assault of his then 38-year-old wife at their home on the 200 block of Hampton Road in Sugar Grove.
In a petition for an order of protection, the woman told Harper she was tired of his physical and verbal abuse and was going to file for divorce if he didn't. She then walked out of their bedroom with pillows and her cellphone to sleep in their spare bedroom when Harper demanded her phone, and knocked it to the floor while grabbing her pillows.
As she bent down to get the phone, Harper grabbed her and began choking her until the woman's teenage sons broke up the attack, according to the order of protection.
They called 911 but Harper was not arrested until the woman's older brother took photos of bruises on her back and showed police, who turned over evidence to the Kane County state's attorney's office, the order of protection stated.
Harper filed a counterclaim for a protection order, arguing she bruised herself in the Feb. 16 incident, that her sons were the aggressors. He also said his wife was using the state's Domestic Violence Act to "advance her own agenda of having (Harper) removed from the marital residence and to gain and an advantage over him in connection with the divorce."
Harper, who is described in court records as being 6-feet tall, 260 pounds, filed for divorce on Feb. 19, 2014, saying his wife had committed "extreme and repeated physical cruelty" toward him.
The split was finalized in June as the couple agreed there were "irreconcilable differences," records show.
She did not receive any maintenance, or alimony, and Harper was able to keep many of his assets and vehicles, including a 2004 Chevrolet Corvette, a 2009 Mercedes and a 2011 Chevy Avalanche SUV, records show.