A Chicago police officer repeatedly had sex with an underage prostitute, and took pornographic pictures of her, FBI investigators claim.
Officer William Whitley was charged with trafficking a 14-year-old girl and producing child pornography, according to the complaint, filed in U.S. District Court Tuesday and unsealed Wednesday.
"The federal allegations against the officer are extremely serious and if proven, are an egregious violation of the trust we place in our police officers," the Chicago Police Department said in a statement. "Upon learning of the investigation, the officer was immediately relieved of his police powers pending the court's actions. CPD continues to cooperate fully with our federal partners in this case."
Whitely has been with the Chicago Police Department for 26 years and appeared in court Wednesday, the Chicago Tribune reported. Prosecutors said in a news release that he was ordered to remain in federal custody, with a detention hearing scheduled for Monday.
The Tribune reported that Whitely worked in the Wentworth District for years but was reassigned to paid desk duty in September 2015 as an investigation into the allegations began.
It wasn't immediately clear if Whitely, 60, had an attorney.
The girl, whom prosecutors did not identify, identified Whitely as a client after she was arrested in an undercover sting, according to complaint against Whitely. Whitely allegedly paid between $60 and $150 for the sexual encounters.
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The complaint alleges that he and the girl got in contact hundreds of times between late July and mid-September 2015, in text messages and phone calls detailed in phone company records. He allegedly texted the girl nude photographs of herself as well.
The sex trafficking case carries a maximum sentence of life in prison, while the child pornography charge carries a 30-year maximum sentence, prosecutors said.
An FBI spokesperson said in an email that the agency does not release mug shots per bureau policy.
