A cop in Illinois was recently caught soliciting “sexy pics” from a 12-year-old.
During the summer of 2012, Woodstock police Sgt. Chip Amati was dating a woman with two daughters, ages 12 and 10. One day the 12-year-old told her mother that Amati gave her a gold necklace that said “Princess.”
The mother thought this was odd, so she went to Amati’s home to ask him about it. This caused a fight which resulted in the couple breaking up.
The following day, the mother told her daughters to avoid Amati and ignore any contact from the man. This prompted her 12-year-old to come forward with some disturbing text messages previously sent to her from Amati. The first one, sent on August 16, said “Hi beautiful.” The subsequent message said, “Feel free to send me a pic anytime ;).” Then another text, sent three days later, said, “Send me some sexy pics! <3.”
The 12-year-old’s mother immediately turned the text messages over to officials. While investigating the situation, officials made another discovery: Amati had collected information on the mother through a police database funded by tax money — all without the mother’s consent.
Although using police databases for personal reasons is a felony, Amati has been charged with nothing at this time.
As reported by the Chicago Tribune, “Officers who use the database for personal reasons can be charged with official misconduct, a felony, state police said. But McHenry County State’s Attorney Louis Bianchi has not charged Amati. After a departmental inquiry, Amati, a 24-year veteran and one of the city’s highest-paid employees, was suspended without pay for 30 days, though he can take them one at a time at the department’s discretion within a year, police Chief Robert Lowen said.”
According to authorities, Amati broke no law by sending the suggestive texts.
The parents of the 12-year-old are furious that no serious disciplinary action has been taken against Amati. Her father said, “He’s no better than who he’s arrested.”
What are your thoughts on this situation? Tell us below.