The head of the city’s police oversight agency announced Tuesday that investigators so far haven’t identified any immigrants as victims of “sexual misconduct” at the hands of Chicago cops.
Andrea Kersten, chief administrator of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, told reporters at COPA’s offices in West Town that “an unprecedented amount of media attention and public scrutiny” prompted her to take the unusual step of disclosing early details of the ongoing investigation.
COPA was initially made aware of the allegations July 6 accusing one officer from the Ogden police district of “sexual contact with an unidentified, underage female migrant,” Kersten said. The allegations also suggested that several other unidentified officers from the district “may have also engaged in similar misconduct.”
“The source of the initial allegation was unknown,” she said. “But the information appeared to be circulating amongst various CPD and Office of Emergency Management and Communication, or OEMC, employees.”
In the ensuing weeks, investigators “have not identified any migrants claiming to be the victim of sexual assault or any form of sexual misconduct by CPD members,” Kersten said. As a result, COPA doesn’t have “sufficient information” to make a recommendation to strip any officer of their police powers, she said.
But over the course of COPA’s investigation, Kersten said other complaints involving immigrants have been lodged, including another unsubstantiated claim of unidentified officers from the Town Hall District “engaging in sexual misconduct” with an immigrant. She noted that a victim has not come forward in that case either.
The initial, explosive allegations became public the same day COPA was made aware of them, with a police spokesperson acknowledging that the department’s Bureau of Internal Affairs was investigating the claims alongside COPA. The following day, the oversight agency announced that its probe involved officers assigned to the Ogden District and at least one immigrant.
One of the officers assigned to the district covering Lawndale and Little Village was accused of impregnating a teenager, law enforcement sources said.
Kersten noted that COPA’s investigation could lead to administrative charges against officers, while the police department’s separate probe is criminal in nature. COPA has regularly briefed the FBI, the police department and the Cook County state’s attorney’s office on its early findings, she noted.
Internal Affairs Chief Yolanda Talley was expected to appear at the news conference with COPA officials and Ald. Daniel LaSpata (1st), but she wasn’t present. Kersten deferred questions about her absence to the police department.
Kersten said COPA is expending “significant resources” on its investigation and has already canvassed 14 shelters and begun working with advocates to contact members of the immigrant community. She asked for the public to be patient as the probe advances and called for new information.
“Under any circumstance, sexual misconduct investigations are complex and sensitive undertakings,” she said. “There can be profound and sometimes impenetrable barriers which prevent survivors of sexual misconduct from reporting their experiences or participating in our systems of justice.
“These barriers are often magnified when an act of sexual misconduct is perpetrated by a person in a position of trust, such as a police officer.”
Kersten said “a comprehensive review” conducted by COPA shows there have been “a couple dozen” complaints involving police officials and immigrants dating back to 2022, when Texas Gov. Greg Abbott began sending busloads of asylum seekers to the city. That includes the allegations against the officers from the Ogden and Town Hall districts, along with claims of verbal abuse and unlawful detainment.
The sexual misconduct claims set off a firestorm that prompted city officials to quickly move dozens of immigrants from the Ogden District station, 3315 W. Ogden Ave. Mayor Brandon Johnson has called the allegations “deeply troubling,” and on Monday he informed members of the media that COPA would be providing an update on the case.
Asked how long COPA will investigate the allegations, Kersten said there’s “no bright line” or “specific end date in sight.”
“Because we still are undertaking these investigative interviews, it depends on what comes out in some of those conversations and investigative steps,” she said. “But we intend to exhaust all efforts.”
