University of Illinois police officer arrested for using police resources to target women
URBANA IL December 22 2019 — A University of Illinois police officer was arrested Friday on seven counts of official misconduct, a Class 3 felony, for allegedly using police resources to target women between February 2017 and January 2018.
An arrest warrant for Jerald Sandage, 48, who has been a UI police officer for 12 years, was issued Friday morning by Champaign County Judge Tom Difanis.
Sandage later turned himself in at the Piatt County Jail in Monticello, and by Friday evening, he had posted $25,000 cash and was released from custody. He is due in court Monday in Urbana to be arraigned.
The preliminary charges resulted from an investigation into Sandage’s conduct on- and off-duty, according to a release from the UI on Friday evening.
The charges involve Sandage’s misuse of law-enforcement databases and security cameras to seek personal information about women at the UI and off campus.
The university said the allegations remain under investigation.
Sandage was placed on administrative leave in September 2018 when he was accused of sexually assaulting a woman off campus while he was off-duty, though no charges have resulted from that case, the UI said.
“Officer Sandage violated his oath of office, and he violated the trust that members of the public put in police officers to keep them safe,” UI police Chief Craig Stone said in the release. “This is totally unacceptable, and it is something that will never be tolerated at the University of Illinois Police Department. Our priority now is providing resources to the victims.”
According to a timeline provided by the UI Police Department, the investigation was opened in September 2018 after the alleged sexual assault and referred to the Illinois State Police.
Sandage was immediately relieved of his authority and placed on administrative leave, and his access to law-enforcement information and resources was revoked, the UI said. He was later allowed to return to desk duty with the investigation pending, though his access to law-enforcement resources was not restored.
In January, State Police provided information to the Champaign County State’s Attorney’s Office, which requested a special prosecutor because Sandage was a recently active police officer. A judge appointed the appellate prosecutor’s office to handle the case.
Then, in September of this year, a second woman reported that Sandage sexually assaulted her in 2012.
Both victims declined to participate further in the investigation, according to the UI, and no charges have been filed to date regarding either alleged assault.
In October, state police turned their evidence over to the UI Police Department, which launched its own internal investigation to address personnel matters related to Sandage’s conduct.
“During the course of the internal investigation, it was determined that Sandage likely had engaged in criminal acts involving misuse of law-enforcement resources,” including photos of women that police suspect were taken without their consent, the release said.
Sandage was put on administrative leave again in October, and the state’s attorney’s office determined there was sufficient evidence to file criminal charges of official misconduct.
“Due to the time period over which the behavior occurred and the voluminous amount of data collected, the extent of who may have been targeted is unknown,” the release said.
Stone was out of town and unavailable for questions Friday night, according to UI police spokesman Patrick Wade, who also declined to comment further on the ongoing investigation.
The release was issued at 6:15 p.m. on the last day of the academic semester before winter break.
“We acted as quickly as possible at each stage of the process,” Stone said in the release, promising to be transparent and provide updates “as it is appropriate.”
UI police will work with campus human resources “on processes related to Sandage’s employment status,” the release said. Wade said the department has to abide by the statutory requirements for civil-service employees.
“To learn that these acts were committed by someone who took an oath to uphold the law is particularly appalling,” Stone said. “We will always act quickly to remove anyone from our department who targets the very community members they are sworn to protect.”
Police ask anyone who has had “troubling interactions” with Sandage to contact Lt. Joseph McCullough at 217-333-1216 or jmccull@illinois.edu.
