Ex-Cook County correctional officer subject of federal prostitution investigation

A onetime Cook County correctional officer has been under investigation for allegedly allowing prostitution in his suburban home, taking a cut of the proceeds and even giving a woman his badge for use during “dates” with customers, federal court records show.

A 24-page affidavit, written by an FBI special agent and obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times, alleges that “at least three women” lived in the Crestwood home of the officer and used it for sex work in 2019 and 2020. The officer also allegedly helped the women make arrangements and meet up with customers elsewhere.

The Chicago Sun-Times is not naming the officer because records show the investigation has not led to criminal charges against him. He could not be reached for comment. The affidavit indicates the investigation into the officer’s activities began in October 2020.

A law enforcement source said the Cook County Sheriff’s Office launched an internal investigation last year after learning the officer had potentially been involved in illegal activity. It also referred the case to federal authorities, according to the source.

The FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s office declined to comment. A Cook County sheriff’s spokesperson confirmed that a person with the officer’s name had been employed as a corrections officer there from March 1999 until his resignation last May. The spokesperson declined to comment further.

The Sun-Times obtained the affidavit while it was publicly available on the U.S. District Court docket. The document has since been sealed. It was filed in March by prosecutors seeking permission to search a pair of Facebook accounts. Prosecutors told a judge last month the affidavit related to an “ongoing grand jury investigation.”

The affidavit alleges the officer had a habit of hiding in the laundry room during some of the women’s “dates,” but he would leave the home if they lasted for a longer period of time. When the women made arrangements to meet a customer elsewhere, he allegedly helped with transportation.

The officer sometimes posted advertisements on skipthegames.com and other websites, including one that catered to “high ballers” who would pay $500 to $600 an hour, according to the document. He also allegedly made arrangements for meetings with customers at a hotel in Bloomington, more than 100 miles southwest of Crestwood.

Notably, the affidavit alleges that the officer gave his badge to one of the women to use. That woman is identified only as “Individual B” in the document.

The FBI agent wrote that, “after making an agreement with a customer to have sex in exchange for money, Individual B would pull out [the officer’s] badge and tell the customer that she was an informant for the police. The customer would get scared and leave.”

Though it’s alleged the officer generally took half of the money the women made meeting with customers, the document says some women would also make arrangements with customers while the officer was sleeping or at work.

That way, they wouldn’t have to share the money with him.

The document also contains excerpts from alleged Facebook Messenger chats between the officer and a woman in 2019 and 2020. In one chat, it appeared the officer agreed to give the woman a ride to meet a customer after he did the same for someone else.

In a separate chat, it appeared he told the woman he couldn’t give her a ride saying, “Sorry I can’t got some licks setup g.”

When the woman complained in another chat about not having clothing, the officer allegedly wrote, “Sh—, you look nice regardless, but after work we can get you an oufit or 2 til u hit a lick.”

Finally, the woman asked in a chat whether, if she posted an ad online, he was “gonna be able to drive or u gonna be to tired”?

The officer replied, “I got u,” according to the affidavit.