By Steve Schmadeke
A former longtime Chicago
police officer accused of having sex with a transgender man while he was locked
up at a West Side police station pleaded guilty Thursday to a felony bribery
charge and was sentenced to 2 1/2 years of probation.
Nelson Stewart, now 60, was in charge of the
male lockup at the Harrison District police station at 3151 W. Harrison St. at
the time of the incident in June 2012. The victim, then 29, had been arrested
for prostitution.
Stewart, a 24-year veteran of the department,
resigned in October 2012, a month after he was charged, according to a Chicago
police spokesman.
Judge Carol Howard imposed the probation
sentence at Leighton Criminal Court Building.
Cook County prosecutors said Stewart
approached the man’s cell and asked for a sexual favor in exchange for letting
him go. He then moved the man to another cell, further away from the lockup
keeper’s desk, where the two had sex, they said.
The accuser was not released after the
incident and later reported it to the district watch commander, who contacted
the department's Bureau of Internal Affairs.
DNA taken from the cell matched both Stewart
and the accuser, authorities said at the time. According to a lawsuit later
filed by the victim, the transgender man was able “to conceal evidence” during
the assault. The case was settled in February, records show.
The 29-year-old man was charged with felony
prostitution the day after the incident with Stewart. He later pleaded guilty
and was sentenced to 2 years of probation, court records show.
Tribune reporter Jeremy Gorner contributed.
John Geer