An Atlanta police officer was fired Monday, just over a week after being arrested in a Cherokee County rape investigation, the department announced.
Lionel Joseph Dely, 32, is accused of raping a woman in her Acworth apartment Jan. 31 after identifying himself as an Atlanta police officer and claiming he was conducting an investigation, according to the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office.
The woman reported the incident two days later, and Atlanta police were made aware of the investigation Feb. 3, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported previously. Dely was immediately relieved from active duty.
Atlanta police said Dely was not on official business when the incident occurred and that the department was cooperating with the investigation. According to the warrant for Dely’s arrest, the woman told him no and that she was not comfortable.
Dely turned himself in Feb. 11.
The officer, who was hired by Atlanta police in April 2015 and completed candidate training in 2016, has no disciplinary history, according to APD and the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council.
Atlanta police leaders scheduled an emergency disciplinary hearing upon Dely’s arrest. The department is required to give employees five days of notice to respond to an emergency hearing with the chief, according to the disciplinary process.
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