A Chicago ex-cop is slated to exchange his badge for a prison jumpsuit for one year, after admitting to a vile breach of authority in which he sexually assaulted a person while on patrol. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois, 65-year-old James Sajdak pleaded guilty to a single misdemeanor count of deprivation of rights under the color of law, following a harrowing incident that occurred nearly five years ago.
In a blatant misuse of his power, Sajdak used his authority to intimidate a resident of Chicago's West Garfield Park neighborhood, offering a stark ultimatum, either hitch a ride in his squad car or face arrest, Sajdak coerced the victim into the vehicle and drove to an isolated area where he forced a sex act on March 5, 2019; this man who swore to serve and protect instead preyed on the very community he was entrusted to safeguard, serving his own twisted desires over the law he was appointed to uphold.
The sentencing, doled out by U.S. District Judge John J. Tharp, Jr., struck the statutory maximum punishment for Sajdak’s crime. It came after heated arguments presented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alexandra Morgan and Erika L. Csicsila that Sajdak’s misconduct not only betrayed a single victim but corroded public trust in the police force and the entire justice system, their fervent words painting a portrait of an officer whose actions belied a deeper institutional malaise.
"Defendant abused the power and responsibility with which he had been entrusted," prosecutors Morgan and Csicsila argued, emphasizing that such actions by those in power are a bane to the public's confidence, the widespread disillusionment with law enforcement only compounded by these heinous acts – a point also echoed by Morris Pasqual, the Acting U.S. Attorney, and Robert W. "Wes" Wheeler, Jr., the FBI's Chicago Field Office head, who joined the legal chorus in condemning Sajdak’s behavior.
