Crime & Safety
Veteran Chicago Cop Accused of Paying 14-Year-Old Girl for Sex: Feds
UPDATED: William Whitley, 60, also allegedly took nude photos of the teen and sent them to her in text messages.
CHICAGO, IL — A veteran Chicago police officer who has been under federal investigation since last year is accused of paying a teenage girl for sex and taking nude photos of her, according to federal prosecutors.
William Whitley, 60, was charged with sex trafficking of a minor and production of child pornography. He is being held without bail pending a detention hearing Nov. 7 after prosecutors argued Wednesday he was a flight risk.
If convicted of the trafficking charge, Whitley faces a 10-year mandatory minimum sentence and could be sentenced to life in prison. A conviction on the child porn charge carries a sentence ranging from 15 to 30 years, the report added.
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Prosecutors accuse Whitley of paying a 14-year-old girl between $60 to $150 to engage in sex acts on multiple occasions last year. He also allegedly took nude photos of the teen and sent them to to her in text messages, according to the criminal complaint, which was unsealed Wednesday.
The complaint goes on to describe how Whitley was introduced to another teen at a party attended by older men and young runaway girls. He also allegedly paid that girl — who was 16 at the time — to engage in sex acts, the complaint states.
Find out what's happening in South Sidefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Whitley — who patrolled the South Side's Wentworth District for much of his 26-year CPD career, the Chicago Tribune reports — was arrested Tuesday. He had been part of an FBI investigation that began more than a year ago and looked into the off-duty involvement of Whitley and another officer in connection with the girl and prostitution, according to a Tribune from last year.
Because of the investigation, Whitley and the other officer were assigned to desk duties and stripped of their police powers in September of 2015, the report stated. No other police officer was named in the criminal complaint.
UPDATED (4:23 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 2)
photo via Patch archive
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