Suit: Woman Sexually Assaulted By Chicago Police Officers
CHICAGO (STMW) - A woman allegedly sexually assaulted by two Chicago Police officers who drove her home in a police vehicle in March filed a federal lawsuit against the officers Wednesday.
The woman, identified only as Jane Doe, filed the suit in U.S. District Court against the City of Chicago and Chicago Police officers Paul Clavijo and Juan Vasquez.
In March 30 attack, the 22-year-old woman was walking alone about 2 a.m. near Wrigley Field, crying and upset after leaving a male friend's home where they had been drinking and arguing, according to prosecutors.
According to the lawsuit, she saw Clavijo and Vasquez inside a marked Chicago Police sport-utility vehicle parked near the Addison Red Line station at Addison and Sheffield. When she saw the police vehicle, the two officers gestured to her with their hands, indicating that they wanted her to approach them, the suit said. When she reached the police vehicle, the officers offered to assist her by giving her a ride home. Assuming that it would be safe to accept a ride home from a Chicago Police officer, she agreed, the suit said. The officers asked her for her address and she provided it to them. They told her that she was not allowed to sit in the back seat of a police vehicle but instead would have to sit on Clavijo's lap.
They then drove to a store where Vasquez parked the vehicle and went inside to purchase alcohol. While he was in the store, Clavijo sexually assaulted the woman in the SUV, prosecutors allege.
The officers then drove to her apartment in Rogers Park, where they drank alcohol with her, played strip poker with her, removed their clothing and sexually assaulted her, prosecutors said.
The victim, who was extremely intoxicated, began to scream and pound on her apartment walls and her neighbors' doors seeking help. Police said the victim told police she felt intimidated by the officers and was afraid to say no to their advances.
Prosecutors said after she ran away screaming for help, witnesses saw a man running naked down the hallway and responding officers recovered the cell phone and part of Vasquez' uniform in her apartment.
Clavijo and Vasquez were charged in May with criminal sexual assault and official misconduct, the suit said. Clavijo also faces the same charges in connection to a March 11 rape, the suit said.
The ten-count suit claims assault and battery, failure to intervene and conspiracy. The suit seeks a jury trial, damages and attorney's fees.
Jennifer Hoyle, a spokeswoman for the city's legal department, said she had not seen the lawsuit and was unable to comment.
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