Prosecutors want former gymnastics coach's bond hiked to $2 million
Prosecutors are not easing up in their pursuit of a former Aurora gymnastics coach facing a retrial on charges he inappropriately touched seven of his students.
A May 26 hearing is set for a judge to decide whether to increase Michael P. Cardamone's bond from $550,000 to $2 million.
Cardamone, 32, has been living at his mother's home in Oswego since January after his family posted the required 10 percent bail. He has pleaded not guilty to the child sexual assault allegations and a newer perjury charge.
In an April 8 court filing, prosecutors accused Cardamone of violating his bond while being with his two young sons in the presence of other children.
In addition, the defendant's estranged wife, Elizabeth, told prosecutors during a Jan. 12 interview that he regularly smoked marijuana and possessed a switchblade knife and brass knuckles while free on bond in 2002, according to the court filing.
Prosecutors also want DuPage Circuit Judge Blanche Hill Fawell to place Cardamone on electronic monitoring so they can keep a closer eye on him, and that he be tested for illicit drug use.
His attorney, Joseph Laraia, is fighting the bond increase. He argued Cardamone is with his boys in public places when other adults are present. The defense also has questioned Elizabeth Cardamone's reliability.
Cardamone was convicted after a hard-fought 2005 trial of fondling seven girls under his tutelage at his family's Aurora gym. The DuPage County jury acquitted him of charges involving seven other girls.
In March 2008, the 2nd District Appellate Court overturned Cardamone's conviction and ordered a new trial. Justices on the Illinois Supreme Court later declined prosecutors' request to intervene.
Cardamone was serving a 20-year prison term before winning a new trial. The high court, though, upheld his harassment conviction for a July 7, 2004, 911 call in which he reported a possible drunken driver who turned out to be one of his accuser's mothers. Earlier this year, prosecutors charged him with perjury after alleging he lied while testifying about the 911 call.