The hidden cop problem: Sex with teens and stalking

This is a part of “Protecting The Shield” – a two-year Asbury Park Press investigation that probes gaps in police accountability, which can harm citizens and cost New Jersey taxpayers millions of dollars. Read our investigative series

Hanover police officer John Schauder spent months "grooming" a 17-year-old girl for sex, the teen claimed.

The 34-year-old patrol officer met the girl while he was on duty during the summer of 2007 and engaged her in conversation after he discovered she was distraught about her parent's divorce, the teen claimed.

He texted the teen and met with her repeatedly while on duty, a lawsuit filed on the teen's behalf later claimed.

The patrol officer groomed the "vulnerable" teenager for a sexual encounter that occurred just a couple weeks after she turned 18 in 2008, her lawsuit claimed. He supplied a 30-pack of beer for a weekend of sex at his home while his wife and child were away, according to the suit. They had sex "on dozens of occasions," including in his home, in the teen's home, while on-duty both inside and on top of Schauder's patrol car, the lawsuit stated.

Schauder's defense in a court document was that he had a consensual encounter. Hanover's governing body settled the teen's suit for $300,000 in 2010.

Hanover and Schauder made no admission of wrongdoing in the settlement agreement. The settlement bars the teenager, now an adult, from talking about the case.

Schauder was later promoted to sergeant. Schauder did not respond to a request for comment.

Police sexual misconduct has been recognized by law enforcement agencies and researchers as a common "hidden” crime that often goes unreported, according to Phillip Stinson. He was the lead investigator of a 2014 Bowling Green State University study that analyzed 548 cases of police sex-related offenses from 2005 through 2007. Research on the topic is limited because only a small number of cases have been exposed, the study found.

The very nature of police work affords rogue cops opportunities to engage in sexual acts against the citizens they are supposed to protect, Stinson stated in the report. The International Association of Chiefs of Police has recognized the magnitude of the problem, holding discussions and issuing guidelines to departments to help them prevent illicit sexual encounters.

INSIDERS: Meet the reporters behind the 'Protecting the Shield' series Feb. 12

About three of four victims were minors in the 548 cases, the study found.

Sexual misconduct was the No. 2 complaint against officers in 2009 and 2010, behind excessive force, a 2010 study by the Cato Institute found.

Sexual misconduct continues because officers who engage in such activities are sometimes protected by a culture of police secrecy and settlement payouts to keep embarrassing situations quiet, according to Franklin A. Porter, a Manhattan psychologist.

Porter has evaluated police officers for fitness for duty and worked with victims of sexual assault involved in litigation with major corporations.

"I think that the institution first and foremost wants to protect its own and also wants to shield itself against negative publicity," Porter said. "And I think it would tend to create or foster an environment where the individuals working within that system may feel, due to the prevailing attitudes and solidarity, that they might have more license to do things that they might not otherwise do.”

The Asbury Park Press identified seven cases of alleged sexual misconduct or crimes by officers, including towns that collectively paid $1.4 million to settle lawsuits. The cases include:

Coerced sexual act — Plainfield settled for $600,000 after police officer Samuel Woody, now 47, falsely accused a woman of crimes, threatening her with jail time in 2011 to coerce her to perform a sexual act. He was found guilty of official misconduct and criminal sexual contact. He is serving a six-year sentence in state prison, and is scheduled to be released from the South Woods State Prison in Bridgeton in December.

Plainfield settled for $600,000 after police officer Samuel Woody, now 47, falsely accused a woman of crimes, threatening her with jail time in 2011 to coerce her to perform a sexual act. He was found guilty of official misconduct and criminal sexual contact. He is serving a six-year sentence in state prison, and is scheduled to be released from the South Woods State Prison in Bridgeton in December. Sexual conversation — Garfield settled for $300,000 in 2010 after officer Todd Mosby, now 56, was charged with engaging in a sexual conversation with a teenager in 2006. He was convicted of degrading the morals of a child and sentenced to 1 day in jail, according to conviction records.

Garfield settled for $300,000 in 2010 after officer Todd Mosby, now 56, was charged with engaging in a sexual conversation with a teenager in 2006. He was convicted of degrading the morals of a child and sentenced to 1 day in jail, according to conviction records. Masturbating lieutenant — East Orange settled for $200,000 in 2014 after Lt. Anthony Cook allegedly went to a woman's home in 2007 and masturbated over her love seat. He was later promoted to captain, and is commander of the department's professional standards unit. No admission of wrongdoing was made in the settlement.

East Orange settled for $200,000 in 2014 after Lt. Anthony Cook allegedly went to a woman's home in 2007 and masturbated over her love seat. He was later promoted to captain, and is commander of the department's professional standards unit. No admission of wrongdoing was made in the settlement. Indicted for sex with teens — Rockaway Township Police Officer Wilfredo Guzman is accused of having sex in 2014 and 2015 with two teenage girls and giving them alcohol and prescription medication. He was indicted in November on charges including sexual assault, endangering the welfare of a child, official misconduct and possession of child pornography, according to court documents. He had pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial. No lawsuit has been filed.

Asbury Park cop Keith German was confident his department would overlook his aggressive pursuit of a woman – even enlisting Bloods gang members to help him – if he told his supervisors one thing: that he was trying to have sexual relations with her.

"Once you tell the truth, they can't get me on nothing,'' German told a member of the Bloods gang in a call intercepted by investigators. "I said I was trying to (have sex with her) because that's not illegal.''

He didn't just try to have sex with a woman. German sought the help of a man alleged to be the leader of the Bloods gang in Asbury Park to chase after her. In exchange, the Asbury Park officer tipped off gang members to police operations. At one point, German had the gang leader post fliers around town with the woman's picture, calling her "The Face of HIV."

After his arrest, German fled from prosecution in 2017 but was soon recaptured.

German was found guilty of eight crimes, including official misconduct, using a computer for stalking and harassing the woman. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison Dec. 19, see video of his sentencing above.

Orange Township Officer Ricardo Arias-Vasquez also expected his department to be complicit in alleged sexual misconduct.

A lawsuit claims Arias-Vasquez was drinking while on-duty in 2015. He got in a patrol car, pulled a woman over, "fondling" her during the stop, the suit claimed. When she went to his department to file a complaint, she was threatened with arrest, placed in custody and Arias-Vasquez was tipped off about her report. He made efforts to discourage her from filing the complaint and the woman received threatening calls, the lawsuit claimed.

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Arias-Vasquez was arrested and charged with criminal sexual contact and witness tampering. He later pleaded guilty to obstruction and received a probation sentence, state conviction records show. The woman's lawsuit against the township is pending. The township denied liability in court documents.

UP NEXT: Part 4 looks at the high cost of pushing out honest officers

Asbury Park Press reporters dug into more than 30,000 public records for two years to produce “Protecting The Shield.” These same journalists report daily as watchdogs in the public interest: examining tax spending, exposing wrongdoing, highlighting advances and often inspiring change that makes New Jersey a better place to live. Follow their work at APP.com and support local journalism today.