An Elgin man employed as a DuPage County sheriff’s deputy has been arrested on charges he had sex with a female inmate at the county jail, the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office said.
Ricardo Hardy, 52, of the 3600 block of Congressional Parkway, was assigned to the Corrections Bureau when he and the woman allegedly “engaged in sexual intercourse and other sexual acts in the prisoner’s cell as well as a shower/bathroom area” between March 13 and April 26, a news release said.
It’s also charged that Hardy arranged to have $300 placed in the prisoner’s commissary account at the Wheaton-based jail, the release said.
Officials learned of the allegations May 10, and charges were approved by the state’s attorney’s office five days later.
Hardy was fired from his job Monday and arrested at his home on a warrant. He appeared in court Tuesday, where bail was set at $300,000 on five counts of felony custodial sexual misconduct and five counts of felony official misconduct.
Hardy is being held in the county jail. His next court appearance is scheduled for June 12.
“It is alleged that a deputy sheriff assigned to corrections, who obviously held a position of authority over his victim, used that position to engage in sexual activities with a prisoner,” State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in the release. “This alleged betrayal of the public trust will not be tolerated and will be met with the full force and effect of the law.
Sheriff James Mendrick said his office has “zero tolerance for this type of behavior.”