Court rejects special prosecutor for ex-cop's trial

A McHenry County judge refused Friday to appoint a special prosecutor to the case of a former police officer accused of sexually assaulting an employee at his McHenry tavern.

County lawyers were left facing the prospect of trying a case they don't believe they should.

Judge Sharon Prather ruled there was no conflict preventing the McHenry County state's attorney's office from proceeding with the case against Leslie Lunsmann, an ex-police officer and state's attorney investigator facing charges of criminal sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual abuse, unlawful restraint and intimidation.

The state's attorney's office asked for a special prosecutor in December, saying Lunsmann's accuser has questioned whether the office will put its full effort behind the prosecution of a former employee.

Furthering the conflict, the state's attorney's office said, is that Lunsmann also stands accused of groping one of its employees on the same night of the alleged assault.

The charges claim Lunsmann, 51, of McHenry cornered a 24-year-old bar worker in a bathroom of his tavern, Mulligan's Saloon, in July 2006 and forcibly fondled her.

Authorities said he then threatened to kill her if she told anyone about what happened. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison.

Lunsmann's defense objected to the appointment of a special prosecutor, saying that it essentially would force the case to start over from scratch more than 18 months after the allegations surfaced, depriving the defendant of due process.

Nichole Owens, criminal chief for the McHenry County state's attorney office, said the office will proceed to trial, scheduled to start May 5.

"This was an issue we thought should be brought forward to the court's attention for a ruling," she said. "We respect (Prather's) decision."