A former St. Louis police officer is facing charges after he allegedly forced a pregnant mother of four into a sex act while he was on duty back in 2015.
According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, John Stewart is facing charges of sodomy in the case.
According to the report, the woman called police around 10 p.m. in June 2015 to report that her car had been stolen from her home. Stewart responded in uniform in a police vehicle.
The victim, who was 25 at the time, wrote the probable cause statement in the case, detailing that she and Stewart were discussing the stolen car while he was standing outside the door to her apartment.
“After the defendant concluded his official duties as a police officer, he requested to enter my apartment,” the victim wrote in the statement. Stewart then began complimenting her physical appearance, she said.
The victim said that she refused to let Stewart touch her, but he exposed himself to her. The victim, who is black, said that she feared Stewart would kill her, especially in light of the fatal police shootings of Michael Brown and VonDerrit Myers.
“I did not consent to the defendant’s sexual advances, but complied as I was in fear of serious physical injury to myself and my children, who were present at the time,” she wrote.
The victim said that she preserved some evidence after the alleged assault. A crime lab later confirmed that Stewart’s DNA was found on a garment and a cup.
Less than a week after the allegations of abuse were made, Stewart resigned from the Police Department. As a result, the Post-Dispatch notes, an internal-affairs investigation into the incident was never completed. The office of former Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce declined to pursue criminal charges.
However, Joyce’s successor, current Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, soon picked up the case, charging the 51-year-old former cop with sodomy on Jan. 31.
Gardner’s spokesperson, Susan Ryan, issued .a statement:
Based upon our investigation over the last several months, Mr. Stewart has been charged with one count of felony sodomy or attempted sodomy in the first degree. This is an ongoing investigation. Anyone with information about this incident should call the Circuit Attorney’s Office.