Former Markham Deputy Police Chief, a Frankfort Resident, Gets 5 Years in Fed Pen For Lying During FBI Rape Investigation

Markham's former deputy police chief was sentenced to five years in federal prison for lying to FBI agents probing allegations he raped a prisoner.

Tony Debois, a 42-year-old Frankfort resident, will head off to federal prison June 10.

“It is a case about lying about a rape that occurred under the most egregious circumstances that law enforcement could imagine,” federal prosecutor April Perry argued Wednesday before Debois was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Joan Lefkow.

Five years was the maximum sentence Judge Lefkow could hand down.

Lefkow ruled that Debois sexually assaulted a woman in police custody in 2010, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Debois pleaded guilty in September to lying to FBI agents. Debois conceded he had sex in his office but contended it was consensual and with a woman other than the one he was accused of raping.

That woman, a 21-year-old, and a man were arrested by the Markham police in September 2010. The arrested man was suspected of engaging in a counterfeit currency transaction, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

The young woman, "who had no prior contact with law enforcement, was handcuffed, taken to the Markham Police Department, and placed in a holding cell for about 30 minutes," the U.S. Attorney's Office said. "One of the arresting officers then took her to Debois’ tactical office, where, according to Judge Lefkow’s ruling, 'he insinuated she could escape further trouble if she engaged in sex with him.' The judge found that Debois’ conduct was rape and that he later obstructed justice to avoid punishment for the sexual assault."

“The seriousness should not be underestimated,” Judge Lefkow said, adding that she found Debois’ conduct “revolting.”

DeBois served as deputy chief in Markham between 2008 and 2011 and also served as the department’s head of internal affairs until 2011, when he became Markham’s inspector general until 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.

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