Police: Former Lake County coroner employee secretly recorded grieving person

A former employee of the Lake County coroner's office faces felony charges after being accused of secretly video recording a grieving family in July 2018.

Dana Dingman, 36, of Grayslake is charged with two counts of using an eavesdropping device without consent, class 4 felonies, and one count of official misconduct, a class 3 felony.

Coroner Jennifer Banek said Wednesday that in April someone in her administration found a video on an employee's county-owned laptop that depicted Dingman telling a person that a family member had died. According to Banek, the video appeared to have been taken from Dingman's cellphone in July 2018 and was made without the consent of the person Dingman was speaking to.

When the video was discovered, Banek said she contacted the Lake County sheriff's office and the Lake County state's attorney's office to conduct an investigation.

"There is no reason for the employee in question to have violated the public's trust by surreptitiously recording them during such an emotional and private moment," Banek said. "Finding out a loved one has died is a family's worst moment and our staff is expected to conduct their duties with the utmost care, respect and compassion."

Dingman was fired from the coroner's office in June, Banek said.

Dingman was indicted by a Lake County grand jury on Wednesday. Lt. Christopher Covelli of the Lake County sheriff's office said Dingman has not yet been apprehended. He said a Lake County judge stayed her arrest warrant. Covelli said prosecutors are working out her surrender to authorities with Dingman's attorney.

Dingman was previously an officer with the Gurnee Police Department.

Dingman's arrangement hearing is set for July 13.