Ex-CPD officer appears in court after being on the run for 7 years

Corryn Brock, Editor-in-Chief

A recently apprehended former Charleston Police Department officer, David Iwaniw, who was on the Coles County Top 10 Most Wanted List, appeared in court Tuesday to request a jury trial and waive a preliminary hearing.

Iwaniw, 42, also waived his right to have bond set but could request a bond hearing at any time.

During the status hearing, Iwaniw asked to be able to have contact with a minor, to which the state objected. After hearing an argument for the motion, Judge James Glenn granted his request.

Iwaniw had been on the run since July 21, 2014, before being located by members of the U.S. Marshals Service Arizona Wanted Violent Offender Task Force and the U.S. Marshals Service Investigative Liaison. He was then returned to Charleston, where he is in the custody of the Coles County Sheriff’s Department.

He was originally arrested in 2013 after being accused of raping a 17-year-old. He was subsequently charged with two counts of criminal sexual assault and one count of child pornography.

According to a police affidavit, Iwaniw allegedly raped the minor in his residence and threatened to “hunt her down if she told anyone what happened and that if she told, no one would believe her because he was a police officer.”

The victim told police Iwaniw told her to say she was 18 as he recorded the rape, according to the police report.

Iwaniw’s next court date is set for 10 a.m. on March 13.

 

Corryn Brock can be reached at 581-2812 or at [email protected].