Officer accused of raping woman in her apartment is suspended, Georgia police say
An Atlanta police officer accused of raping a woman in her apartment has been arrested and charged, authorities say.
Lionel Dely, 32, was booked on one count of rape after turning himself in at the Cherokee Adult Detention Center on Friday, Feb. 11, according to the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office.
The woman told police the incident occurred Jan. 31 at her Acworth apartment shortly after meeting Dely, who told her he was an Atlanta officer conducting an investigation, authorities said in a news release. She reported the assault two days later, triggering an investigation.
“Investigators were able to confirm that Dely is in fact an Atlanta Police officer,” the sheriff’s office said. “Evidence was obtained during the investigation to support a charge of rape.”
The Atlanta Police Department’s Office of Professional Standards “immediately” relieved Dely of duty after learning of the charges, according to police.
The officer, who joined the department in 2015, was placed on unpaid suspension Monday, Feb. 14, pending the outcome of an emergency hearing, Atlanta police said in a news release. Per the disciplinary process, employees have five days to respond to an emergency hearing with the police chief.
Then the chief will decide on a punishment, which could include termination.
“The officer was not on official business when this incident occurred,” Atlanta police said in a statement addressing Dely’s arrest. “The Atlanta Police Department is cooperating with investigators and will continue to do so.”
Dely is the latest metro Atlanta officer to be arrested on criminal charges in recent weeks.
On Feb. 9, a former Cobb County deputy sheriff was arraigned on federal charges of distributing and possessing child porn, McClatchy News reported. The 51-year-old had worked for the department since 2005 and was previously assigned to the Sex Offender Unit before his arrest in August of last year.
Dely was booked into the Cherokee County Adult Detention Center, where he remains held without bond.
“All rape investigations are concerning, and this one is no different it is certainly concerning to us,” Cherokee Sheriff’s Office spokesman Captain Jay Baker told WAGA. “Added to the fact that an officer is involved is definitely upsetting.”
Cherokee County is about 40 miles north of downtown Atlanta.
This story was originally published February 15, 2022 at 10:29 AM with the headline "Officer accused of raping woman in her apartment is suspended, Georgia police say."