Former Saint Louis Police Officer Charged In On-Duty Rape

ST. LOUIS, MO — The Post-Dispatch reports 51-year-old John Stewart, a former St. Louis police officer, has been charged in connection with an on-duty rape in 2015. Prosecutors have charged Stewart with one count of first-degree felony sodomy, according to a spokesman for the circuit attorney's office. Prosecutors had previously declined to charge Stewart and it is unclear what changed.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Stewart had been released from jail on $60,000 bail.

The paper's report did not name the victim, but Patch reported Brittany Walker's allegations late last year after she gave her name in an interview with the Riverfront Times. A short documentary filmed by Walker's cousin lays out those allegations in detail. Walker is identified in the film by the pseudonym "Missy."

After Walker called police for help in a domestic dispute with her husband, she said an unnamed officer — now known to be Stewart — reportedly asked, "Are you freaky?" and coerced her into oral sex.

"I honestly thought that if I told him no, he would kill me in the house," Walker said. She was married and six-months pregnant at the time, and said she froze up, having been abused by men in the past.

After the incident, Walker threw up in a towel. It would later be taken as DNA evidence. But, though the officer resigned the next day, prosecutors at the time refused to press charges.

Walker said she cried constantly for weeks after the incident and contemplated suicide when her husband blamed her for what happened. Soon thereafter, she was diagnosed with cancer. Between chemo therapy, dealing with the effects of trauma, and the stress of living in a domestic violence shelter, "she lost it." Only her faith saw her through the trying time, she explained, adding that she refuses to see herself as a victim.

"I'm going to be an RN and my kids are going to be successful and go to college," she said. "I don't have time to feel sorry for myself."

Walker's cancer is now in remission and she says she tries not to think about the incident. "I would rather forget about it, like it never happened," she said. "I don't really need justice or whatever, I just would rather it go away."

Stewart's attorney declined to comment.

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