Openly gay Broward County, Florida
Deputy Jonathan Bleiweiss plead not guilty to five more charges of
sexual abuse on Friday, CBS affiliate WFOR reported.
Bleiweiss plead not guilty to two
related charges in August. One more case is left to be arraigned.
Prosecutors accuse Bleiweiss of
intimidating at least eight illegal immigrants into performing
various sexual acts. The twenty-nine-year-old is accused of scaring
the undocumented men, most of whom were in their late teens or early
20s, into sex after pulling them over during routine traffic stops.
He is also accused of stalking some of the men after they stopped
returning his calls, court documents reveal.
Prosecutors added new charges to the
original complaint against Bleiweiss after investigators searched his
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.”
The seven-year veteran deputy was taken
into custody on August 3. Defense lawyer Eric Schwartzreich has
dismissed the charges, saying there is no “physical evidence to
support the allegations.”
In March, Bleiweiss was named Oakland
Park Employee of the Year and honored during a City Hall
ceremony. Bleiweiss' assigned beat included a large gay population.