Lawyer: Officer accused of mishandling rape kits will resign as part of deal
A Cincinnati police officer accused of mishandling rape kits in cases he was investigating has agreed to resign as part of a plea deal, his lawyer told The Enquirer Thursday.
Christopher Schroder, 52, had his police power suspended in August, but on Wednesday the Hamilton County Prosecutor's Officer and Cincinnati Police Department publicly announced he was being investigated.
Schroder's attorney, former Hamilton County prosecutor Mike Allen, said a plea deal has been signed in the case. He said Schroder will plead guilty to dereliction of duty, a misdemeanor, and resign.
Allen said he believes Schroder will be able to collect a portion of his retirement because he wasn't involved in fraud or theft.
Allen said Schroder unintentionally did not submit rapes kits to the proper places on three separate occasions between 2016 and 2018.
Cincinnati police said a recent audit of the personal crimes unit where Schroder was assigned revealed what had happened.
"This egregious incident involving Officer Christopher Schroder tarnishes the badge but is not reflective of the men and women we employ on this department," Chief Eliot Isaac said. "We as a department vow to never let something like this happen again."
According to Schroder's personnel file, he was disciplined for a similar problem in 2016.
"Several rape kits were located at Children's Hospital which had been there for several months, four of these kits belonged to cases assigned to PO Christopher Schroder," the file states.
The file says Sgt. David Simpson spoke to Schroder in 2016 telling him it was important to process the kits in a timely manner to properly conduct investigations and to stay in compliance with state law.
Schroder joined the Cincinnati Police Department in 1999 and was transferred to the personal crimes unit in 2007. Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters said his office is working to determine to what extent Schroder's actions have affected other investigations.
In similar cases, an investigator's entire case history must be reviewed. Allen said he doesn't believe any of the three cases in question were negatively impacted by Schroder's actions.
Cincinnati's police union president Dan Hils said: "The accusations are obviously quite serious, but officers deserve due process." He added that officers who have neglected their duties have "dishonored their badge."
Hils said the issue of retirement is handled by the state pension board and does not involve the city or the police union. He added that he believes Schroder will not be able to draw a full pension because he has not been on the force the required 25 years needed to do so.
Allen said he expects the plea deal to be finalized before Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Jennifer Branch within the next two weeks.