$3.25M settlement for woman sexually assaulted at Markham courthouse
Nine officers of the Cook County Sheriff’s Office are still on the payroll even though the county unanimously voted Wednesday to pay $3.25 million to a woman who was sexually assaulted on their watch in the lockup at the Markham Courthouse.
Cara Smith, chief policy adviser to Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart, said Wednesday that the office is seeking to terminate the officers, a decision that was made after an investigation by the Sheriff’s Office of Professional Review. The office was investigating how the woman came to be locked in a small cell with two men — and why none of the deputies assigned to the courtroom at the time noticed the assault as it was taking place.
“The negligence of the staff was just shocking,” Smith said. “What occurred here should have never occurred and should never occur in a correctional setting.”
The Chicago Sun-Times obtained disciplinary records that show the four deputy sheriff’s officers recommended to be fired are Sheila Kalina, Timothy Houlihan, Marvin Buchanan and Josephine Carter.
Read more: https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/sheriff-moves-to-fire-9-officers-after-sex-assault-of-inmate-in-lockup/