The first openly gay deputy from
Broward County, Florida to be named Employee of the Year pleaded not
guilty to 21 charges on Friday, including allegations of on-duty
sexual abuse, gay weekly the South
Florida Blade reported.
Prosecutors say Broward Sheriff's
Deputy Jonathan Bleiweiss intimidated at least eight illegal
immigrants into performing various sexual acts.
Bleiweiss, 29, is accused of
intimidating the undocumented young men into sex after pulling them
over during routine traffic stops or stopping them on the street. He
is also accused of stalking some of the men after they stopped
returning his calls, court documents revealed.
Seven extra charges were added to the
original complaint's 14 last week after investigators searched
Bleiweiss' home where they discovered police and law enforcement
records on nearly 30 men hidden inside a wooden chest in the bedroom.
The printouts of photos and personal information included Bleiweiss'
personal comments, such as “HOT JEEP GUY” and “HOT GUY IN
TOYOTA ECHO.”
Prosecutors allege the deputy stopped
young men in their late teens and early 20s who looked Hispanic. If
the men were undocumented, he would fondle them or perform oral sex
on them.
Defense lawyer Eric Schwartzreich
dismissed the charges, saying there is no “physical evidence to
support the allegations,” and questioned the motivations of the
illegal men.
Bleiweiss has been suspended without
pay by the Sheriff's Office and has been held at the Broward County
Jail without bond since his arrest August 3.