Burbank Woman's Suit Claims Justice Cop Forced Her To Perform Sex Act

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A Burbank woman is suing the village of Justice and a Justice police officer, claiming the cop forced her to perform oral sex on him in his squad car.

Filed Nov. 16 in federal court in Chicago, the woman's lawsuit alleges the incident began May 5 after the woman left a friend's house in Justice.

The woman called a cab and was waiting for it outside when she noticed a Justice police car driving by, the suit says. Justice police Officer Carmen Scardine was driving the vehicle, the suit says.

According to the suit, Scardine stopped the car in the middle of the street and called the woman over to his car. When the woman ignored him, Scardine made a U-turn to get closer to her.

Scardine questioned the woman before demanding she get into his car, according to the lawsuit. She refused multiple times before finally getting into the car with him because she was scared, according to the lawsuit.

While they were inside the car, the cab that the woman had called showed up, but Scardine told the driver to wait, the lawsuit says.

Scardine then drove the car into a secluded spot in an apartment building parking lot, where he forced the woman to perform the sex act, the suit says.

According to the lawsuit, Scardine then drove the woman back to the cab. The woman reported the incident to Burbank police later that day.

The lawsuit says the Justice police department investigated the woman's claims and determined they were credible, though no one at the department returned multiple calls about the suit Thursday.

Justice Village Trustee Edward Rusch Jr. said Scardine was suspended last month for 27 days due to infractions related to "police procedures," but he did not know whether the suspension was related to the lawsuit. Scardine was using vacation and sick days to make up pay lost in his suspension, Rusch said.

Rusch also said the police department is still investigating the incident and the village board is set to discuss the investigation in closed session during a meeting Monday. He said Scardine is not facing criminal charges.

Scott Kamin, the woman's attorney, said he believes Scardine got away with a "slap on the wrist."

"There's something strange going on and they knew she was telling the truth but nothing really happened anyway," Kamin said.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2012. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)