Arrest warrant issued for Gurnee woman

A Lake County judge issued an arrest warrant for a Gurnee woman who did not show up in court Thursday to answer charges that she attacked a police officer with a sex toy.

Carolee Bildsten, 56, faces a $75,000 bench warrant issued by Lake County Judge Brian Hughes after she did not appear at her scheduled 9 a.m. court call.

The bench warrant means her name will be distributed to all police computers and she will be arrested if spotted. Once arrested, she will be held in Lake County jail on a $75,000 bond, officials said.

Bildsten was charged with aggravated assault and theft in early November after police say she threatened to hit a Gurnee officer with the sex toy.

According to authorities, Bildsten walked out on her tab at Joe's Crab Shack in the 5600 block of Northridge Drive in Gurnee, then was found by police laying in the grass on the south side of Grand Avenue.

The officer escorted the woman to her home to retrieve the money for the bill, but she removed a “clear, rigid, feminine pleasure device” from her dresser drawer, held it over her head, and attempted to strike the officer.

The officer knocked the device away and arrested Bildsten without being injured.

She was originally released on a personal recognizance bond following the attack, officials said, and was scheduled to appear in court with an attorney Thursday morning.

Under the warrant, the woman has until Jan. 27 to turn herself into police and appear before the judge at the Lake County Courthouse in Waukegan before additional warrants for her arrest could be issued, authorities said.