Round Lake Park woman charged with making false police reports of stalking

A Round Lake Park woman was charged Tuesday with lying to police when she obtained an order of protection against a Florida man she claimed was stalking her.

Stephanie Sledzik, 39, of the 500 block of North Prospect Drive, is facing up to three years in prison if found guilty on any of three felony counts of filing a false police report, Round Lake Park Police Chief George Filenko said.

Sledzik was being held in Lake County jail on $10,000 bail, authorities said.

Filenko said Sledzik came to the police station Jan. 10 and said a Florida man was stalking her. Filenko said Sledzik and the unidentified male from Florida met online and arranged a meeting in Illinois in August. Filenko said the man returned home days later after the meeting didn't go well.

Police assisted Sledzik in filling out a police report, then directed her to get an order of protection against the man, Filenko said.

Sledzik returned to the police station twice more in January carrying cellphone records showing the man called her on several occasions. Filenko said officers filed charges against the man, and issued a warrant for his arrest.

Investigators then contacted the man, and he claimed he had not spoken to Sledzik since their meeting in August, Filenko said.

Sledzik returned to the police station a third time Feb. 6, claiming she was threatened again. This time, investigators went to the Lake County state's attorney's office to obtain subpoenas for Sledzik's cellphone records, Filenko said.

"The state's attorney's office was already trying to get the phone records because the Florida man hired a local attorney and he was looking for the same records," Filenko said.

Filenko said the phone records came back in March and showed the Florida man had not contacted Sledzik during the time she claimed.

Sledzik was called into the police station Monday, where she admitted to a using computer program to alter the phone records police viewed.

She is due back in court at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, authorities said.