Chicago police officer charged with groping woman in custody
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A Chicago police officer has been charged with groping a woman while she was in custody last May at a police station in the River North neighborhood.
Stephan Shaw, 32, has been relieved of his police powers and has been charged with two felony counts of custodial sexual misconduct and one felony count of official misconduct. At his first court appearance on Tuesday, a judge granted him his release from custody on the condition that he not have any contact with the victim or her family.
Cook County prosecutors said Shaw was one of the officers who arrested a woman for shoplifting on May 22, 2023.
While she was in a holding cell at the Near North District police station, handcuffed to a metal bar on the wall, Shaw approached the doorway and made several sexually suggestive comments about her buttocks, and asked her if she was going to let him "hit it."
Shaw then asked her if he could touch her buttocks, and groped her over her clothing, before sticking his hand inside her shorts and touched her inappropriately, and placed her hand on his pelvic region.
Before releasing her from custody, Shaw used his phone to look her up on Facebook, and when she later reached out to him for information on her next court date, Shaw asked her about getting pizza together, and she responded with a heart emoji.
The woman later told her mother about the incident, and they reported it to police.
Following an investigation, Shaw, was arrested and relieved of his police powers. He also was ordered to surrender his firearms to Chicago Police Headquarters.
If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison.
