CINCINNATI — Former Cincinnati police officer Christopher Schroder pleaded guilty Wednesday to five misdemeanor counts of dereliction of duty for failing to properly investigate sex crimes assigned to him during more than a decade with CPD's Personal Crimes Unit.
Schroder's plea agreement required him to surrender his Ohio peace officer certification, which is required to be a police officer in the state.
Hamilton County Judge Jennifer Branch sentenced Schroder to five years of probation and 500 hours of community service.
"I found Mr. Schroder's dereliction of duty appalling and egregious," Cincinnati Police Chief Theresa Theetge told Branch during Schroder's hearing. He "victimized those most vulnerable victims a second time."
The investigation of Schroder, 53, was initially based on a CPD internal audit in 2021 that found Schroder had failed to turn in rape kits years ago.
CPD referred the case to the Hamilton County Prosecutor's Office.
Then-Prosecutor Joe Deters hired two outside investigators — retired Hamilton County Asst. Prosecutor Anne Flanagan and former CPD officer Jane Noel — who reviewed 865 cases handled by CPD's Personal Crimes Unit, according to a news release by Hamilton County Prosecutor Mark Piepmeier.
"Significant deficiencies were found relating to 47 cases," Piepmeier said. "These issues included: reports of underage pregnancies with little-to-no investigations, delays in rape kit submissions, inadequate investigations relating to vulnerable victims (those with mental health issues or young children), cases with no investigation, failures to submit DNA swabs, and incorrect entries relating to DNA findings."
In court, Flanagan said there was a 48th case later confirmed that had significant deficiencies that needed to be referred to CPD and reassigned for investigation and notification of the victims.
Flanagan said their review of cases found that 11 rape kits waited from six months to six years to be tested.
"This was very unique," Flanagan told Branch. "My experience with the Personal Crimes Unit is that they are a fine group of individuals, very dedicated, very conscientious."
Schroder made a brief statement in court prior to sentencing.
"I just wanted to apologize," Schroder told the judge. "It was not an intentional act by any means for everything that happened."
Schroder's defense attorney, Mike Allen, described Schroder as "a good man and a good cop" who accepted responsibility for his crimes.
"He's shown extreme remorse for what happened," Allen told the judge.
According to Piepmeier's release, Theetge immediately initiated changes for the Personal Crimes Unit, including the following:
- A team of investigators will be assigned to each case, made up of one lead investigator and two additional investigators for an added layer of oversight. Previously, one investigator handled each case.
- Checklists will be used for every step of the process.
- Quarterly audits for every active case.
- Monthly updates to the Chief (or designee) on all cases.
- All cases require dual-supervisors review.
- A tracking process for rape kits.
Theetge told reporters that Schroder's Personal Crimes Unit supervisor resigned after the department learned about Schroder's actions.
FOP President Dan Hils released a statement saying in part, "Police officers are held to a high standard because of the trust the community places in them and the vital role they play in ensuring justice. While it’s a difficult job, there is never an excuse for intentionally neglecting your duty to protect innocent victims. No officer who did that has any business ever wearing a badge again. I trust that Hamilton County Prosecutor Mark Piepmeier will hold this former officer fully accountable."
Schroder had been on paid administrative leave since 2021.
He officially resigned from the department right before his hearing.
