Girl may appeal ruling in Arlington Hts. rape case

A girl who was raped will probably appeal a federal court's decision that she cannot sue Arlington Heights or the police officer her lawsuit alleged saw her obviously drunk and left her with a man and two male teens in 2009, said her attorney.

“It's our intention to pursue all avenues available to obtain justice in this case,” said Steven Edwin Garstki of Chicago.

Options include asking U.S. District Judge Edmond E. Chang to reconsider his opinion and appealing to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

“I think that it was a tragic incident,” said Garstki. “The acts of the individual police officer were at best reckless. It cries out for justice and a proper remedy.” And that remedy would be for the young woman to have her day in court, he said.

The plaintiff, who sued under the name Jane Doe, does not want to speak publicly and “has suffered enough,” said her attorney, declining to comment on how she is doing now. She was described as a minor in court documents filed in spring of 2011.

Arlington Heights Police Chief Gerald Mourning confirmed that officer Mark Del Boccio is still on the force. “We don't comment on litigation,” he said, declining to answer additional questions.

Del Boccio did not return a message left for him at the police department.

Jack Siegel, attorney for the village of Arlington Heights, said the judge's decision was proper because there was no violation of law or the plaintiff's civil rights.

“They can appeal to the 7th Circuit, but I am absolutely convinced that this opinion of the trial judge is bulletproof,” said Siegel.

The judgment said that the suit does not stand up even if the plaintiff's allegations are accepted as factual. The complaint says that when Del Boccio responded in 2009 to a call from a site manager at an apartment complex near the Arlington Heights and Mount Prospect border, the girl could not stand by herself and was being held up by one of the males.

The officer left after talking to the three males, who said they were taking the young woman home. The site manager called 911 again, and this time Mount Prospect police answered the call and saw the girl being assaulted in a laundry room, according to the suit. They arrested the three males.

Christopher Balodimas, 23, of Buffalo Grove was later convicted of sexual assault, and at the time of the crime was on probation for robbery, according to the lawsuit.

As a law officer Del Boccio received qualified immunity for his actions, the judge ruled.

“Plaintiff does not sufficiently allege that Del Boccio acted to create the danger or contribute to an existing danger,” the judgment said.

The complaint said Arlington Heights was negligent in hiring Del Boccio because when he was on duty as a Chicago police officer in 2004, he drove a car that struck two children, killing one of them. Last July the city of Chicago paid $6.5 million to the victims of that accident.

Even taking the facts as true, the judgment said, “the link between the driving incident and Del Boccio's allegedly inadequate investigation of the 911 complaint is far too tenuous ...”

While she didn't comment on Boccio's hiring, Mary Rath, the village's director of human resources and liaison to the Arlington Heights Police and Fire Commission, explained the general process.

She said the commission maintains a list of “highly recommended certified” police officers in other departments who have applied to be hired by the village. These are people who have distinguished themselves through the interview with the commission and/or through special training they have received, she said. These candidates go through a similar process to those on the “new hires” list except they do not take the written or physical agility test, she said.

Before a “certified” candidate is sworn in, the Arlington Heights Police Department's background check includes interviewing him or her, visiting the current department and looking through the candidate's file, and knocking on doors in the officer's neighborhood.