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Lawsuit claims Naperville cops allowed boy to be sexually abused in squad car

Naperville officials say they're prepared to vigorously defend themselves against a lawsuit that claims two police officers stood by while a woman sexually abused a boy in the back of a squad car.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Will County, names the officers, city and a Naperville woman as defendants.

The suit claims the boy and some friends were at the vacant home of the boy's birth mother on Halloween 2014. The officers, the suit says, detained the boy in the back of a squad car while waiting for his foster mother to arrive but let his friends leave.

At some point, a woman not related to the boy got into the squad car, according to the suit, and interacted with the minor "in a manner which was inappropriate and sexual in nature." She also took "selfie" photographs of herself and the boy.

The two police officers were in the squad car at the time, the lawsuit said.

Police Chief Robert Marshall declined to discuss specifics of the litigation but said it's "not uncommon" for unrelated adults to be placed in squad cars with children.

"There are circumstances where juveniles are in squad cars with police and there are circumstances where juveniles are in squads with adults," he said. "Civilians are routinely in our squads after crashes, or when we're giving people rides home. It happens."

Marshall also confirmed there was an internal investigation after the allegations first surfaced last fall but he would not disclose the findings.

City Attorney Jill Wilger also said there was an investigation into the allegations now contained in the lawsuit. No charges were filed, she said.

"The allegations were investigated approximately a year ago," Wilger said. "No criminal charges were approved as a result of that investigation."

Wilger said there was not a criminal investigation against the police officers involved, but she would not say whether there was an internal probe into their conduct.

She said the city stands by its officers and is building a defense against the lawsuit.

"It's the city's position that the claims against the officers are false and we are going to defend the case vigorously," Wilger said.

Miles Dore, the attorney who filed the lawsuit, did not return calls seeking comment Thursday. Attempts to reach the woman named in the suit were unsuccessful.

The lawsuit is next scheduled to be heard at 9:30 a.m. Feb. 16 in Will County.

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