2 Cops Accused of Sexually Assaulting Woman. Hillard: "Outraged"

By Chuck Sudo in News on Mar 31, 2011 9:14PM

Interim Police Superintendent Terry Hillard expressed what he called "extreme outrage and disappointment" over a North Side woman's accusations she was sexually assaulted by two police officers.

The alleged assault occurred early Wednesday. According to the police report filed by the 22-year-old woman, she was drinking and arguing with a male friend at his apartment, when she left crying and the two cops approached her and offered her a ride. From there this allegedly happened:

The woman told police that during the ride, she had sex with one of the officers in a passenger seat of the SUV and that she did not say “no,” according to the report.

When they arrived at her apartment in the 1300 block of West Greenleaf Avenue, all three went inside, where they played strip poker and she had sex with one officer in her bed.

But she began banging on her wall with her hands hoping to catch her neighbors’ attention, saying she felt intimidated by the officers and was afraid to say “no” to their sexual advances, the report said.

She got up and ran out of her apartment screaming and pounding on a male neighbor’s door, but he didn’t answer. Another neighbor, a woman, saw her and called police, prompting an initial response about 3 a.m. for a “person calling for help.’’

When the male neighbor finally opened his door after hearing the commotion, he told police he saw a naked man running down the hallway and another man dressed in a Chicago Police uniform walking away, according to the report.

The man went to check on his neighbor and a cell phone belonging to one of the suspects was found. The woman was taken to Saint Francis Hospital in Evanston for treatment, according to the report.

A cell phone belonging to one of the officers was found inside the woman's apartment. both officers invoked their Fifth Amendment rights and are being represented by the same attorney. Hillard said that it doesn't matter that the woman was drinking at the time of the alleged assaults.

"Whether she was drunk or -- that has nothing to do with the case," Hillard said. "What they did, or allegedly have done, is inappropriate and its against the law. And that's what we're investigating."

Unfortunately, if this case does go to trial, the phrase "she didn't say no" will likely be used a lot by the officers' attorney in their defense. If it comes down to that, that phrase could be the difference between two cops being convicted of sexual assault and two being acquitted of said crime.