CPD Officer Sues Sergeant For Sexual Harassment

A Chicago Police officer says she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder due to years of sexual harassment by her former co-worker.

Officer Kelly Hespe is suing 14th District Sgt. Gerald Breimon for sexual harrassment.

"I really wish I would have had him arrested, but I was too afraid to," Hespe said Thursday at a news conference held with her attorney. "Not because of all his connections. I was afraid of him."

Hespe admits dating Breimon briefly, but after the relationship ended, she says he made the workplace a difficult place to be.

"He was always wanting to check to see if I was wearing underwear. He would accuse me of not wearing underwear and would want to check it I was. It was very degrading," Hespe says.

She's filed a 10 count federal civil rights complaint against Breimon, the city of Chicago and a supervisor she said did nothing to stop it.

"He sent her hundreds of sexually explicit text messages," Hespe's attorney, Daniel Herbert said. "He manipulated work assignments so that Kelly Hespe would be along on the midnight shift."

Hespe says the harassment continued, and that she sometimes went along with his demands out of fear for her safety.

"He would always want to carpool, but the real reason he wanted to carpool was for sexual acts," Hespe said.

It's not the first sex-related claim against Breimon. In 2007, the State's Attorney's Office dropped charges of sexual abuse and official misconduct against him when a woman who accused him of trying to fondle her during a traffic stop refused to testify.

A spokesman for the city's law department says it has yet to see the latest suit.

More Chicago Stories

Contact Us