Minnesota cops can legally have sex with people in custody, that's about to change

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Right now, it’s not illegal in Minnesota for police officers to have sex with people in their custody.

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There’s a national move afoot to address the issue, and there is at least one documented case in Minnesota where a cop was accused of having a sexual relationship — apparently legally — with a woman by leveraging his authority over her. In that case, the officer was suspended but never charged with a crime, and he’s still a cop today.

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To be clear, it’s illegal for anyone, including a peace officer, to forcibly have sex with someone.

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But not cops. In Minnesota, an officer can argue that the sex was consensual, even if the victim was in handcuffs — a power dynamic many believe is absurdly imbalanced and is tantamount to rape.

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Advocates for sexual assault victims note that under numerous scenarios, a suspect for a crime like drug possession or prostitution could be implicitly coerced into “consenting” to sex in exchange for leniency, whether she’s physically restrained or not. And if it’s the word of a police officer against an alleged drug user or prostitute, juries might be inclined to trust the cop, they say. And, advocates say, people facing other criminal charges are unlikely to report the assault.

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The issue rose on the radars of many around the country last year following the news of an 18-year-old New York woman who accused two officers of raping her while handcuffed in the back of a police van. They were arrested and indicted, but attorneys for the officers have suggested the acts were consensual. That such a defense could be offered for an incident involving a handcuffed suspect and on-duty officers shocked many.

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