Jury out in sex assault trial of former cop
Jury deliberations are under way in the trial of a former McHenry County police officer and state's attorney investigator accused of sexually assaulting a female bartender at the McHenry tavern he opened after he retired.
The eight woman, four man jury got the case shortly after noon after defendant Leslie Lunsmann took the witness stand this morning to deny the claims that could land him in prison for as long as 15 years if found guilty.
"Absolutely not," Lunsmann, 51, of McHenry, said repeatedly when asked whether he assaulted or did anything inappropriate to his accuser in an employee washroom of his Mulligan's Saloon in July 2006.
The denial leaves jurors with what ultimately is a he-said/she-said case. With no eyewitnesses and no physical evidence corroborating the accuser's account, jurors may have to base their verdict on which person is more credible.
Lunsmann faces charges of criminal sexual assault and aggravated criminal sexual abuse stemming from the 26-year-old woman's claims he locked her in a washroom, forcibly kissed her mouth and chest and shoved a hand down her pants.
He also was facing charges of intimidation and unlawful restraint when the trial opened Wednesday, but a judge threw out the intimidation charge Thursday and prosecutors voluntarily dismissed the latter charge this morning.
Lunsmann testified today that the woman made the allegations after he fired her for cheating on her time card and other problems with her work. He admitted following her into the employee washroom after the firing, but said it was not to attack her.
"I had just fired her and I didn't want her anyplace in my building that was private," he said.
During closing arguments, Assistant McHenry County State's Attorney Michael Combs told jurors that Lunsmann's account is not believable and his accuser has no reason to make up the accusations.
"Of all the reasons why a woman might fabricate a sexual assault claim, being fired from a $7.50-an-hour job is not one of them," he said. "She gains nothing by falsely accusing the defendant. Her only motivation is the truth."
Lunsmann's defense, however, pointed out numerous inconsistencies in the woman's testimony, both in relation to her earlier statements about the incident and with other prosecution witnesses. Workers at Mulligan's disputed portions of the woman's testimony, including her claim that she fled the employee washroom in tears and that Lunsmann made her sit with him at the bar after the alleged incident.
Defense lawyer Mark Gummerson also noted that the woman had no bruises or abrasions that night, despite her testimony that the burly Lunsmann had grabbed her roughly during and after the incident.
"You can't blindly accept what someone says when she is contradicted throughout her testimony," Gummerson said. "The credibility and believability of (the accuser) are nonexistent based on the prosecution's own witnesses."