A Chicago police officer has been charged for allegedly filming himself sexually abusing and assaulting several teenage children. Officer David P. Deleon is facing over 10 charges, including eight felonies, related to this case.
In March, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office arrested the officer for abusing a minor in Norridge, a Chicago suburb.
Prosecutors charged a Chicago police officer Friday with allegedly filming as he sexually abused sleeping children whom he met while working.
Officer David P. Deleon, 30, was charged with eight felonies Friday, including allegations he filmed child pornography and committed sexual abuse and assault. Chicago police stripped Deleon of his police powers in March after prosecutors accused him of sexually abusing and punching a 17-year-old boy in a separate case.
Judge Barbara Dawkins ordered Deleon held without bail Friday at the Leighton Criminal Court Building. He was remanded to the Cook County Jail pending trial, according to the sheriff’s office.
The victims Deleon allegedly abused between November 2021 and March 2023 include boys who were 13 and 14 years old at the time, as well as a man who was 23 years old when abused, prosecutors said.
Deleon met the two children “while working in his capacity as a Chicago police officer,” according to a state’s attorney petition requesting bail be denied. The boys and the man were unaware they had been abused when they slept at Deleon’s house until investigators showed them videos Deleon had made showing the abuse, prosecutors said.
Norridge police seized the officer’s mobile phone after he was arrested on unrelated charges of sexual abuse and battery earlier this year. The department turned the phone over to the Cook County sheriff’s office “when it found evidence of crimes against children.”
The contents of Deleon’s phone contained evidence of “numerous juvenile male children” spending time with the officer at his home, according to prosecutors. “The children are observed to be consuming alcohol, smoking hookah, and dressing in Chicago police uniforms and ballistics vests, as well as holding and holstering firearms,” prosecutors alleged.
Deleon’s internet search history showed he had run searches for “drugs that makes u fall asleep” and others.
The 14-year-old victim informed investigators that he met the officer after going to the police station on a different matter. Deleon “sent the child a friend request on Snapchat,” according to the prosecution.
The authorities found multiple images and videos showing the officer pulling down the boy’s pants and molesting him. This same pattern continued with a slew of other underage victims.
In another encounter, Deleon met a 17-year-old boy in Norridge and offered to put oil in his car:
When they met, Deleon drove to the lower level of a parking garage, put his car in park and sexually abused the teen, prosecutors said. When the victim opened the door and tried to leave, Deleon pulled the door shut after grabbing the victim by his collar and pulling the victim toward him, prosecutors said.
Deleon then “punched” the victim, causing the teen’s head to hit the seat belt buckle holder. That’s when Deleon tried to climb on top of the victim, who put his feet on the dashboard to prevent that from happening and was able to climb into the driver’s seat to escape, prosecutors said. The teen told authorities what happened later that day.
In total, prosecutors charged Deleon with 12 felonies, including “kidnapping, criminal sexual abuse, battery, and unlawful restraint.” On Friday, Deleon was ordered held without bond, and the investigation is ongoing.
