A South Bend police officer faces criminal charges for molesting a minor at a private school where he worked part-time, according to newly released court documents.
Rico Butler, 27, was charged Monday with two felony counts of child seduction for engaging in a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl. Butler is 27 and has been a South Bend officer since 2022, though he also works part-time as a security officer and basketball coach at New Vision Christian Academy, where the girl he allegedly molested attended school.
The South Bend Police Department has suspended Butler with pay following the charges.
Butler's recent case is now the second time since 2021 a South Bend police officer has been charged with child seduction for statutorily raping a minor.
Child seduction
According to newly filed court documents, the Department of Child services received an anonymous report that Butler was involved in sexual abuse of a 17-year-old girl. Investigators with St. Joseph County's Special Victims Unit then interviewed the girl, one of the girl's friends as well as Butler, according to court documents.
The statements taken allege Butler and the student began messaging on Snapchat in September and eventually the two engaged in sexual activity on multiple occasions throughout the winter. The documents claim Butler told investigators he statutorily raped the girl in his car, in a classroom at the school where the girl went and at her house when her mother wasn’t home.
Butler also told investigators he worked part time at a high school in Mishawaka as a security officer and basketball coach, though he has no formal training as a Student Resource Officer.
Court documents do not identify the school, though Butler is pictured on social media posts from New Vision Christian Academy — a private, Christian K-12 school on Logan Street in Mishawaka. Per a media report, New Vision Christian Academy had an enrollment of about 50 students in 2023.
The school is run by Ivy Butler, who is Rico Butler's mother.
When a reporter called New Vision Christian on Monday to ask about Rico Butler, a representative from the school hung up the phone.
If he’s convicted, Butler could be sentenced to anywhere between one and six years.
Past instances
Butler's recent case is not the first time a South Bend police officer has been charged recently with statutorily raping a minor. In 2021, Tim Barber was charged and eventually pleaded guilty to a count of child seduction for grooming and then molesting a 16-year-old girl.
In that case, court documents and testimony indicates that girl worked at Chick-Fil-A where Barber would frequent and he used the fact the girl wanted a career in law enforcement to groom her. St. Joseph County Judge Jeffrey Sanford gave Barber no prison time and instead sentenced him to four years of probation and counseling and he will register as a sex offender.
South Bend Police Chief Scott Ruszkowski suspended Barber upon learning he had been charged and recommended his termination upon Barber's conviction, though Barber resigned from the department before formally being fired.
In a response to questions from WVPE about the police department's screening process Ruszkowski issued a statement saying the department requires applicants go through a rigorous series of interviews and psychological evaluations before being hired as an officer.
"I am distraught and disappointed by the allegations that ultimately led to the arrest and charging of Rico Butler," Ruskowski said. "As police officers we hold ourselves to higher standards. Any alleged negative behavior by an individual who wears our badge is a detriment to the efforts of our 250+ officers who strive each day to built and maintain trust and make a positive impact within our community."
