Crime & Law
Top Cop Agrees to Fire Officer Who Investigators Say Raped, Beat Teen Girlfriend: Records
(WTTW News)
A Chicago police officer who investigators say raped and beat his then 19-year-old girlfriend more than seven years ago should be fired, the agency tasked with investigating police misconduct and former Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling agreed, records show.
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability determined that not only did Officer Alberto Rodriguez assault the woman he was engaged in a romantic relationship with, but he also held her against her will until police arrived at his home on Aug. 23, 2019, conclusions endorsed by Snelling, according to records published Thursday.
The agency, better known as COPA, also concluded that Rodriguez accessed a confidential police database and examined the police report made by the woman after she was treated at a hospital, records show.
“Sexual assault and physical abuse cannot and should not be tolerated by the department,” COPA’s investigation concluded. “Tolerating such conduct severely undermines public trust in the department and the accountability system.”
COPA also concluded Rodriguez lied to investigators during the probe.
In two interviews with investigators, Rodriguez denied all the allegations made against him, records show.
Snelling concluded in April 2024 that Rodriguez should be terminated, records show. COPA’s final report documenting its investigation of Rodriguez was completed in November 2024 after Snelling objected to some of the charges COPA lodged against Rodriguez, most involving whether he provided alcohol to his then-girlfriend, who could not legally consume alcohol.
It is unclear why it took nearly five years for the probe to be completed and an two additional years for the investigation to be shared with the public.
Snelling’s letter to COPA leaders indicated that the department opened a criminal investigation into Rodriguez, who was not charged with a crime.
The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office was notified about the case in September 2019, according to a spokesperson for Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke, who took office in January 2025.
“Prosecutors referred the case back to police for continued investigation,” the spokesperson said, referring questions about the status of the investigation to CPD.
A CPD spokesperson said Rodriguez, who joined the force in 2014 and earns more than $115,000 annually, had been stripped of his badge and gun and assigned to administrative duties.
Representatives of CPD did not answer questions about the criminal investigation into Rodriguez. There is no statute of limitations in Illinois for criminal felony sexual abuse or assault charges.
Rodriguez did not respond to a request for comment.
Rodriguez, who was 30 at the time, met the woman at her 18th birthday party, which he attended because he and her brother trained at the same mixed-martial arts gym and had friends in common, according to the probe, which does not name the woman, in keeping with its rules.
Rodriguez fought professionally as part of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, according to a 2022 profile on the league’s website that touted his ability to “grapple” with those suspected of crimes.
After beginning a romantic relationship, the woman told investigators she agreed to have sex with Rodriguez, but he raped her several times. He also told her he could influence the outcome of criminal proceedings against her brother, the woman told COPA.
Their relationship continued for more than a year until Aug. 23, 2019, when the two had dinner at a restaurant and returned to Rodriguez’s apartment in the same building where his parents lived, according to the probe.
The woman told police she became unconscious after drinking heavily at Rodriguez’s insistence and woke up when he began raping her and beating her, according to the probe. When he left the room, the woman called her mother and told her Rodriguez would not let her leave. The woman’s mother called the police, records show.
When police arrived at Rodriguez’s apartment, he refused to open the door. After officers threatened to break down the door, the officer’s father let them into his son’s unit, where Rodriguez was handcuffed but not arrested.
Two of the officers who responded to Rodriguez’s apartment deactivated their body-worn cameras during the incident, in violation of department policy, according to the probe.
The woman was taken to the police station and then to the hospital, where she told medical personnel that she had been raped, beaten and held against her will, records show.
Photos taken at the hospital show showed “bruising and abrasions” on the woman’s left arm, left thigh and both lower legs, according to COPA’s probe.
Chicago officials will not be able to fire Rodriguez any time soon because of a long-running dispute over whether officers accused of serious misconduct have the right to ask an arbitrator — and not the Chicago Police Board — to decide their fate, and whether those proceedings must take place in public.
The Illinois Supreme Court heard arguments about that case on Thursday. A decision could come before the end of the year.
WTTW News coverage of policing and police reform is supported by The Joyce Foundation.
Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone | (773) 569-1863 | [email protected]
