CITY HALL — A City Council committee signed off on a $415,000 settlement Tuesday to close the case of an anonymous woman who accused two Chicago Police officers of sexual assault.
According to Leslie Darling, of the city Law Department, the case stemmed from a March 2011 incident in which uniformed officers Paul Clavijo and Juan Vasquez attended to a drunk and distraught 22-year-old woman at the Addison Street Red Line stop in the early morning hours.
Darling testified before the City Council's Finance Committee that the two officers offered to drive her home. They stopped to buy alcohol on the way, and while one officer was in the store, the other engaged in a "nonconsensual" sex act, Darling said.
They then drove her to her Rogers Park apartment, where both "repeatedly sexually assaulted her," Darling alleged, before she succeeded in bolting out into the apartment building and calling for help from other residents.
DNA tests confirmed both officers engaged in sex with the woman, who was found to have a blood-alcohol level of .38, officials said.
Both eventually pled guilty to official misconduct and resigned from the force in January 2014. They were sentenced to probation in a deal that made no mention of sexual assault.
The woman, named as Jane Doe in her suit, suffered "substantial" damages, according to Darling, including post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. Darling said she has since moved out of the city.
The $415,000 settlement was negotiated down from an original demand for $2.7 million in damages. Darling said the risk of an adverse jury finding was high and that the settlement was "cost effective" for the city.
The Finance Committee approved it, and it goes before the full City Council for final approval on Wednesday.
For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:
