This article was created in collaboration with the Invisible Institute for Propublica’s local reporting network and published in collaboration with Chicago Sun-Times and WBEZ. Sign up for Dispatch to get stories like this as soon as it’s published.
A former Chicago police officer pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a felony charge in connection with two cases of sexual misconduct involving a female colleague.
The lawsuit against Eric Tabby was highlighted in an invisible laboratory Propuplica investigation that found Chicago police officials frequently failed to actively investigate allegations of sexual misconduct against city officials.
TABB, 35, pleaded guilty to a two-count worsening battery in a public place, a Class 3 felony and was sentenced to 30 months of probation. As part of the judicial agreement, TABB’s claims were reduced and had to be enrolled in the sex offenders program.
Chicago police have dismissed recruits’ claims that their colleagues had sexually assaulted her. He was then charged again and again.
TABB, who was arrested and fired in December 2023, is one of the 14 officers accused of sexual assault in the past decade, and has been found to have been charged at least once prior to sexual misconduct. The survey file shows that five out of 17 women in academy class provide similar descriptions of inappropriate sexual contact, including TABB.
A team of Invisible Institute reporters considered more than 300 sexual misconduct and assault complaints against Chicago officials. Complaints were often disrespected or ignored, and sometimes allowed police officers to abuse them over and over again. In a statement to the story, Chicago Police said they “take all allegations of sexual assault seriously, including allegations against CPD members.”
At a previous hearing to Cook County Judge James B. Novi, two Tubbian victims, both police officers, read an impact statement in court.
“The woman I speak to today, including myself, was a woman who trusted Eric Tab and spent eight months forming that trust at the Police Academy. As of today, there is hope that all the women affected can place this in the past,” one of the police officers read from a prepared statement.
The judge said he agreed to a plea deal to allow the woman to place the case behind them.
“The only reason I went with this deal is the victims,” Novi said. He warned the tab that if he fails to comply with the terms of his probation, he will send him to prison. “Everyone wants to close. They want this behind them. I’m going to pay attention to this.”
The fees are attributed to two incidents. At a birthday party at Wrigley Bilber in August 2023, Tab was said to have approached a fellow female recruit on the dance floor, whispering to her that she wanted to have sex with her, touching her breasts, butt and crotch, grabbing her by the face and trying to kiss her. TABB was charged with aggravated criminal sexual abuse of two counts from the incident.
The second incident took place after a roll call within the police district in December 2023. Tab allegedly touched the thighs of a fellow probation officer several times as she stood up to adjust her duties belt, according to court records. She was attending the training academy with him.
At previous hearings, prosecutors had asked Nobby to include two additional cases that were not accused but described as part of a pattern of behavior by TABB. TABB participated in the “Star Party,” an unofficial celebration for alumni alumni who receives badge numbers. At the party, witnesses told investigators they saw Tabb grab another female recruit by the legs. That same night, TABB touched on the butt section of the second recruit, according to interviews with police investigators and court records.
Alexus Byrd-Maxey was the first recruit to report TABB a few months after she and Tabb began at the academy, but her charges were not part of the prosecutor’s case. According to Byrd-Maxey, she was leaning against her classmate’s computer in March 2023 when Tabb walked behind her. She said she felt his hands on her hips and his body was pressed against her.
Byrd-Maxey has tried to report TABB several times but it failed. The investigation file obtained by the Invisible Institute and Propublica shows that Tabb told other recruits that Byrd-Maxey had overreacted, only to tap on his shoulder and take a seat. Other recruits supported his story. Almost three weeks later, there was a conflict in the class, and she allegedly told the tab “close your bitch’s ass” and used gang-related language. Byrd-Maxey denied these allegations but was fired.
Tab and his lawyer, Dan Herbert, declined to comment, but Herbert previously said that Tab was innocent, but blamed Bird Maxey for allegations by other women.
Byrd-Maxey was unable to attend the hearing, but her mother, Jauntaunne Byrd-Horne, was in court and later spoke to her daughter about the plea agreement. Byrd-Maxey said she was disappointed.
“He has been given blessings over and over again. They have made him a free man,” she said. “I feel like I’m not being taken seriously again.”
Sebastián Hidalgo contributed the report.
