Police officers in Chicago and most places are for the most part great. But when you have tens of thousands of them, there are bound to be some bad actors who do bad things. Given that police have tremendous authority and power, they can do a lot of damage to innocent people.
In the past few months we’ve read a lot about officers in many cities/states who have been accused of sexually abusing people they have arrested and we’ve actively helped people in Chicago and other parts of Illinois who have made similar claims.
The challenge in these cases is that it can be a he said/she said situation and the cops who are scummy enough to do this do it because they believe nobody will believe a “criminal” over a cop. That’s the mentality we are dealing with. So what should you do if an unethical cop, sheriff or any other officer makes you perform a sex act on them?
- Even if you committed a crime that put you in this position, you are still a victim and this officer is a criminal. File a police report against them as soon as you can.
- Go to the hospital as soon as you are able to. This can help prove what you are saying and enhances your credibility. There is no such thing as consensual sex between an arresting officer and a defendant.
- Preserve any evidence that you can. In one case, to be graphic, a client spit evidence in to a bottle. A DNA test will lead to an arrest and substantially increase the value of the case because it will take away any ability to deny that it happened.
- Remember the body cams. Some really stupid cops have committed this rape while a body cam was on and/or turned it off without good explanation.
In the big picture, if this happens to you it can seem like an uphill battle, but if you are telling the truth your chances of prevailing both with criminal charges against the scum bag as well as in suing to win a lot of money. What’s shocking in these cases is how often the person who abuses their authority has a track record of having done terrible things yet still gets to be alone with people to do it again.
If you would like a FREE and CONFIDENTIAL consultation about getting help with one of these cases or anything else, call us any time at (312) 346-5320 or fill out our contact form and we will call you. You can speak with an experienced lawyer for free, ask questions and get pointed in the right direction. We help everywhere in Illinois and with sexual assault cases by law enforcement officers we will often help any where in the US.