Ex-Joliet Detective Convicted Of Domestic Battery Sentenced; Judge Denies Bid For New Trial

JOLIET, IL — Three months after being found guilty at his bench trial, former Joliet police detective Peter Ranstead learned his sentence in his 2024 domestic battery case involving his then-wife.

According to his attorneys, Jeff Tomczak and Anna Rose Bertani, Kendall County Judge Lisa Accardi also denied a motion asking her to reconsider her guilty verdict or to order a new trial.

The denial came after Bertani said the court "erroneously" found the victim's testimony more credible than Ranstead's and argued that the court "improperly imputed 'battered woman's syndrome'" on the victim, saying that characterization wasn't supported by evidence or expert witness testimony.

Accardi in March found Ranstead guilty of two counts of domestic battery and one count of interfering with the filing of a domestic violence report.

According to the defense attorneys, the state presented a victim statement asking the court to sentence Ranstead to a year of probation, as well as domestic violence counseling, parenting classes and 90 days of jail time.

Bertani argued against jail time, noting that Ranstead, a father of three, had no prior criminal history, served in the Coast Guard and received awards during his time as a Joliet officer.

Ranstead was fired by the Joliet Police Department in November 2025, a little over a year after his arrest.

The court ultimately sentenced Ranstead to a period of probation with no additional jail time.

Related:

• Joliet Detective Convicted Of Battery Testifies Wife Was Kissing Groomsman, Sipping From His Drink At Wedding
• Paid Leave An Entire Year: The Plight Of Joliet Police Detective Pete Ranstead, Charged With Domestic Battery
• GUILTY: Joliet Police Detective Loses Bench Trial Before Kendall Co. Judge Despite Testifying