A Chicago cop with a long history of complaints against him was arrested on his way to work Tuesday and charged with sex trafficking a 14-year-old girl as well as producing child pornography.
William Whitley, a 26-year veteran, is being held in federal custody without bond after U.S. Magistrate Judge Maria Valdez determined the 60-year-old cop was a flight risk.
He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life behind bars if he’s convicted of sex trafficking the minor.
The charges Whitley faces for producing child pornography carries a minimum sentence of 15 years. Investigators found he took nude photos of several minors and had their numbers stored on his phone under names like “Bunny”, “Jasmine and “Mocha” and had sexual encounters with them while wearing his Chicago police uniform.
“Whitley told Minor A that he was a police officer, and bragged about being a police officer,” according to court documents. “In addition, Minor A stated that Whitley often wore a gold chain around his neck that had a gold medallion with a Chicago Police Department logo on it.”
On September 17, 2015, Whitley texted the 14-year-old to come to his apartment to have sex “B4 I gotta work,” according to the arrest complaint.
“What time do you gotta go, cause I’m about to jump in the shower,” the minor female replied.
“2:00 p.m.”, replied officer Whitley.
An investigation into Whitley began over a year ago and has found that Whitley attended parties that were part of a sex ring set up by an acquaintance in which adult men would pay teenage runaways for sex.
Another minor, referred to as Minor B alleges Whitley paid or $65 for oral sex.
“Minor B identified a photograph of Whitley as one of the men who she saw at the parties and who later paid Minor B for sex, as described below,” according to the arrest complaint that describes a sexual encounter she had with Whitley and a man he referred to as ‘his partner.’
The girl, who was 16-years-old at the time, stated she met with Whitley five times and that he paid her $65 in exchange for oral sex.
“Minor B explained that Whitley was in the driver’s seat of the car and Whitley’s partner was sitting in the passenger seat,” according to the complaint. “while they were riding around in the car, Whitley paid Minor B approximately $65 in exchange for giving him oral sex.”
Whitley was arrested Tuesday and magistrate in court before Judge Valdez wearing an orange jumpsuit.
Whitley said he understood the charges against him when asked by Judge Valdez.
“Yes, your honor,” he replied.
According to his arrest affidavit obtained by PINAC investigator Felipe Hemming, seen below, Whitley,
“did knowingly use, persuade, induce and enticed a minor, namely, Minor A, to engage in sexually explicit conduct, namely, lascivious exhibition of Minor A’s genitals for the purpose of producing a visual depiction defendant know and had reason to know would be transported and transmitted using a means and facility of interstate commerce and in and affecting interstate commerce, and which visual depiction was actually transported and transmitted using a means and facility of interstate commerce and in and affecting interstate commerce.”
The affidavit states officer Whitley sent Minor A, who was 14-years old and wore metal braces at the time, texted photos of her naked with another individual and that those photos were saved in the downloads section of her phone.
Investigators found those six photos upon searching Minor A’s phone.
Upon reviewing the photos, items visible in the background were consistent with items found in Whitley’s apartment, including leopard print bedding in addition to two photographs, and a tan, beige and black bedspread that was visible to the right side of the photos.
Whitley’s partner has not been arrested, but remains under investigation for his role in the trafficking scheme.
The Chicago Tribune reports Whitley has 28 documented complaints against him dating back to 1991 for violations ranging from using profanity, neglect of duty and false arrest.
The former cop, who was assigned to desk-duty after a federal probe into his involvement with the sex trafficking ring in 2015, was suspended seven times throughout his 26-year careers with Chicago PD
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