Former Maywood cop not guilty in Villa Park rape case
A DuPage County judge Thursday found a former Maywood police officer not guilty of a March 2012 sexual assault in a Villa Park hotel room.
In a 10-page written decision, Judge George Bakalis ruled prosecutors did not prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Deon Sams, 40, forced himself on the woman during the encounter. He found Sams not guilty of four counts of criminal sexual assault.
Bakalis did find Sams guilty of one of two counts of official misconduct, which carries a penalty ranging from probation to three years in prison.
Outside court, Sams maintained he is only guilty of cheating on his wife, and she has forgiven him.
"This case has kept me up at night for two and a half years and I'm very grateful for the people who have stood by me," Sams said. "I'm glad the system worked and the judge saw this was nothing more than a malicious attack on me by a young lady seeking money from a police officer."
He said the mistake cost him his career and nearly his marriage.
"I was a police officer with a shiny badge but I'm human and I made a mistake," he said. "I'm not the first officer to cheat on my wife and I won't be the last."
Sams said he would be appealing the misconduct charge because of a factual error in the ruling. He also apologized to his family, friends and the village of Maywood for any embarrassment the case caused.
During last month's trial, Sams testified he picked up the 36-year-old Bellwood woman in his Maywood police SUV shortly after 2 a.m. on March 24, 2012, and drove her to her brother's nearby house because she was locked out of her home for the night.
The woman, along with an Oak Brook police officer, also testified that she had been arrested and charged with DUI in Oak Brook at 12:28 a.m. that day after her blood alcohol content level registered .186 - more than twice the legal limit.
A short time later, the woman's boyfriend picked her up from the police station and drove her home. Angry with her for getting the DUI, she testified he dropped her off outside her home and sped away.
After no one answered at her brother's home, Sams testified he drove her to a local motel and gave her $100 for a room. On the drive to the hotel, Sams said the woman complimented his appearance, flirted with him and the two talked about giving each other massages.
With no vacancy at the hotel, the woman returned to the police SUV and Sams drove to the Maywood police station. Once there, the woman got into Sam's personal car as Sams attended to another police call.
Some time later, Sams said he returned to the police department, got in his personal vehicle and drove the woman to a hotel in the 0-10 block of West Roosevelt Road in Villa Park. Once in the room, Sams said the two had a consensual sexual encounter.
Bakalis stated in his ruling that he was not condoning Sams' behavior.
"No question, the defendants actions in this case were despicable," Bakalis wrote. "An on-duty police officer is required to render assistance to those in need and not take advantage of situations."
The woman, however, testified that once in the hotel room she "dozed off and on" throughout the alleged assault and did little more than put her hand on his chest to stop the assault.
"Dozing off is particularly difficult to accept regarding the incident in question," Bakalis wrote. "And her reluctance to pursue charges is troubling."
Sams said after sex, and before he returned to work, he promised to return to the hotel in the morning to pick the woman up and take her to work in Aurora. But he never showed up, leaving her stranded.
"If only I would have gone back to the hotel and picked her up and took her to work, none of this would have happened," Sams said. "No one would have known my sins of adultery but God and me."