Victim Sues Ex-Salem Cop, City, Police Department

SALEM, MA -- Former Salem Police Officer Brian Butler, the Salem Police Department and the City of Salem were named as defendants in a lawsuit filed by a Cape Cod man in federal court this week. The lawsuit claims the man's civil rights were violated when he was sexually assaulted by Butler on Halloween in 2016. Butler was convicted in a criminal trial and sentenced to 3.5 to 5 years in prison last month but acquitted on the more serious charge of rape.

The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court and seeks unspecified damages. Prosecutors in the criminal trial introduced evidence that proved that Butler, 57, reached under a blanket and touched the victim's genitals without his consent. The victim was in protective custody after Salem Police were called to the Clipper Ship Inn because the victim was heavily intoxicated and had flooded his hotel room. The victim was visiting Salem to participate in the Halloween festivities.

Butler was acquitted on the rape charge. Prosecutors attempted to prove that any apparent consent by the victim could not have been voluntary given that he was in police custody.

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