Tony DeBois, Former Markham Deputy Police Chief, Arrested on Federal Civil Rights Charge Alleging Aggravated Sexual Abuse

The former deputy police chief in south suburban Markham was arrested yesterday after being charged in a federal indictment with violating the civil rights of a victim through acts that included aggravated sexual abuse. The defendant, Tony D. DeBois, was arrested at his home this morning without incident by special agents of the FBI. DeBois was the deputy chief of the Markham Police Department when the alleged crime occurred on September 23, 2010.

DeBois, 41, of Matteson, was scheduled to appear at 2:15 p.m. yesterday before U.S. District Magistrate Judge Sidney I. Schenkier in federal court. He was charged in a single-count indictment that was returned by a federal grand jury on Wednesday and unsealed yesterday following his arrest.

The indictment alleges that on September 23, 2010, while acting in his official capacity as Markham deputy police chief, DeBois violated the victim’s right to bodily integrity by acts that included aggravated sexual abuse.

DeBois served as deputy chief between 2008 and approximately 2011, and he was also the Markham Police Department’s head of internal affairs between 2007 and approximately 2011, when he became Markham’s inspector general until sometime in 2012. DeBois began his law enforcement career with the former Chicago Housing Authority Police Department in the 1990s, and he was a police officer in south suburban Harvey from 1999 to 2007, when he joined the Markham Police Department.

The arrest and indictment were announced by Gary S. Shapiro, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Cory B. Nelson, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. They thanked Anita Alvarez, Cook County State’s Attorney, for her office’s extensive cooperation in the investigation, as well as the Illinois State Police.

The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney April Perry.

The felony civil rights violation carries a maximum penalty of life in prison and a $250,000 fine. If convicted, the court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.

The public is reminded that the charge is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.