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Title: Deputy accused of sexual abuse was fighter for gay rights
Source:
SUN-Sentinel
URL Source: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/br ... sted-sex-abuse,0,1484852.story
Published: Aug 5, 2009
Author: By Ihosvani Rodriguez Juan Ortega and Jo
Post Date: 2009-08-05 05:21:38 by noone222
Keywords: None
Views: 218
Comments: 4
FORT LAUDERDALE - To the South Florida gay community, Jonathan Bleiweiss was a pioneering, openly gay Broward sheriff's deputy who fought discrimination within that agency earlier in his career. But court documents released Tuesday portray Bleiweiss, 29, as a manipulative sex offender who preyed on illegal immigrants too scared to contact authorities. He would act like a jilted lover when the men would not return his calls or text messages, according to those records, based on victims' accounts. Bleiweiss, arrested Monday, faces 14 charges, among them three counts of sexual battery by a person in authority, four counts of battery and one count of stalking. He's accused of intimidating at least eight men in his Oakland Park patrol district into performing sex acts with him during traffic stops. "This is not an act that necessarily impacts the gay community," said Michael Rajner, a local gay rights activist who lives in Pompano Beach. "This is an act of an individual, not a community." Investigators said they opened the case in April, after learning a deputy was committing the assaults. Officials on Tuesday declined to say when Bleiweiss became a suspect. He was removed from road patrol in mid-July, only after there was substantive proof to make a case, said Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Veda Coleman-Wright. The court documents state the men positively identified Bleiweiss from a photo lineup starting in July. Eric Schwartzreich, the deputy's attorney, said, "I do point out that they are allegations by undocumented aliens, that at this point in time I'm not seeing any physical evidence to support the allegations." During a bond hearing on Tuesday, he said it was too early to fully comment on the case. Court records show most of the alleged attacks followed a pattern: The victims were fondled during pat-downs following early-morning traffic stops. Some were coerced to give up cell phone numbers and agreed to meet for future sexual encounters. In all cases, the men told investigators they felt they could not refuse the uniformed deputy's demands without a reprisal. According to the affidavit, an illegal immigrant from Mexico told an investigator he endured five different incidents with Bleiweiss between April 22 and June 7. The man said Bleiweiss fondled him and whispered Spanish obscenities before molesting him. After the incident, Bleiweiss allegedly continued to call and text message the man days later, pressuring him to meet up again. "Que pasa, amigo?" read one message after the man did not reply. The man said he pleaded with Bleiweiss to stop assaulting him during other similar encounters, insisting he only liked women. A second man, also from Mexico, said he was assaulted on three separate occasions. During one traffic stop, the man said he loudly urged Bleiweiss to arrest him or call immigration authorities as he was being fondled. A teen, who moved to South Florida from Mexico after Hurricane Wilma in 2005, said Bleiweiss fondled and masturbated him on two separate occasions. A man from El Salvador and his brother were returning home from work on their bikes when Bleiweiss stopped them. The deputy fondled the man after ordering his brother to leave the scene, officials said. The alleged attacks did not surprise many who work regularly with immigrants. Nancy Ramirez, a Los Angeles-based lawyer with Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, a Hispanic rights group, said illegal immigrants are viewed as "vulnerable" targets who may not report an attack for fear of being deported. But Ramirez said "U visas" for immigrant victims of crime and domestic violence are available. In exchange for their court testimony, such immigrants may be eligible to stay legally in the United States, work with a permit and eventually apply to become a permanent resident. "But a lot of immigrants are not aware," Ramirez said. "It's not something that's well-known." Arturo Barrios, 34, an undocumented immigrant from Guatemala who has lived for a year in Broward, said he often sees illegal immigrants head in the opposite direction when police are nearby. "The fear is they'll grab someone and take them away, even if they haven't done anything," said Barrios. "I've been fortunate and haven't run into immigration officials. I'm following my dream of having a home here." In Oakland Park, leaders in both the city and gay communities say the actions the deputy is accused of may foster distrust for law enforcement. "It affects our community at large, and it affects our gay community, too," said former Oakland Park mayor and commissioner Larry Gierer, who is gay. "It really can make the whole force look bad." In January, Sgt. John Nash nominated Bleiweiss for Employee of the Year in the Oakland Park district. In his nomination letter, Nash included a long list of Bleisweiss' heroics, including making well over 100 arrests in the city. Bleiweiss was also lauded for organizing a 30-person Broward Sheriff's Office AIDS Walk team for two years in a row. A story in the South Florida Blade, a gay weekly, detailed the deputy's accomplishments as an officer and a gay community leader. Bleiweiss told the weekly that early in his career he worked with a sergeant who routinely made jokes about him and his sexuality, and once referred to him as a "sex offender."
Poster Comment: Homos are dangerous because they are anti-social, hate normal society, and will violate to copulate. Queer cops, priests and politicians are especially dangerous.
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#2. To: noone222 (#0)
What is that? Muslim? Chinese?
#3. To: Esso (#2)
What is that? Muslim? Chinese? He and his attorney, Eric Schwartzreich, are undoubtedly committed Methodists. I know, it's a shock, but there it is. ;-)
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