A Lincoln Police Department captain who led the department’s Special Victims Unit has been placed on administrative leave following allegations of misconduct.
The Special Victims Unit is responsible for investigating sex crimes.
The City of Lincoln released a brief statement related to allegations that Capt. Jake Dilsaver sent sexually explicit messages to members of the department.
“Jake Dilsaver has been removed from command of Special Victims Unit. It is an internal personnel matter and we cannot comment further," the statement read.
The announcement followed an investigative report by The Midwest Newsroom into allegations against multiple officers employed at the department.
Sarah Williams and 11 other Lincoln police officers and Lincoln Fire and Rescue employees filed lawsuits against the city alleging workplace discrimination, retaliation, sexual harassment and sexual assault.
Since 2016, Lincoln has paid more than $3.5 million to resolve six of these lawsuits, and at least six more lawsuits filed by current and former LPD officers alleging similar claims are pending in court.
A lawsuit also alleges that in October 2021, despite women coming forward and reporting unwanted messages, Dilsaver was promoted to oversee the newly formed sex crimes unit at LPD.
During the six years that Williams was on the force, she said she received frequent sexually inappropriate, unwelcome and degrading remarks from male officers, including multiple sexually inappropriate Snapchat messages from Dilsaver, who was a sergeant at the time.
In 2024, Lincoln’s police department employed 371 sworn officers. It has one of the lowest staffing levels of any police agency in the country for a city of its size, according to Lincoln.
“I would not expect to see that many lawsuits filed based on the size of that department,” said Jonathan Cherney, a national police practices and procedures expert based in Rancho Santa Margarita, California. “That seems high to me, and I can tell you, I’ll refer to the old phrase: ‘Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.’ If you’ve got that many people making complaints with similar allegations, there’s definitely a problem that needs to be addressed.”
While the city implemented policy changes in 2022 to address the culture of the department, the department still faces a legacy of lawsuits.
Through public records, internal documents, legal records and interviews with former employees, The Midwest Newsroom found the department is grappling with how to handle misconduct, allegations and the persistence of these systemic problems.
Over the course of the investigation, the Lincoln Police Department declined to make Dilsaver, the police chief, or any other employees available to The Midwest Newsroom for interviews for the initial news report.
If you need help and support
There are many resources available for survivors of sexual abuse, harassment, assault or domestic violence.
Here are two national resources:
- RAINN, or the Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network, hotline: Call 800-656-4673.
- The National Domestic Violence Crisis hotline: Use the website or call 800-799-7233.
The Midwest Newsroom is an investigative and enterprise journalism collaboration that includes Iowa Public Radio, KCUR, Nebraska Public Media, St. Louis Public Radio and NPR.
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