McHenry County Deputy was caught with dick in hand

McHenry County sheriff's deputy had sexual contact with the fiancee of a defendant in a drug case the officer investigated, according to an attorney for the defendant.
The allegations come against onetime Detective Jason Novak in the case of a Crystal Lake man who is charged with possession and manufacture or delivery of narcotics.

In response to a question about the allegations, Sheriff Keith Nygren confirmed that Novak was suspended for 10 days and transferred from detective back to patrol, though he did not specify why. Novak could not be reached for comment.

Court documents filed by the defendant's attorney, Hal Stinespring, gave the following account:

In March 2011, the defendant's fiancee, whom he lived with, contacted the McHenry County Sheriff's Department seeking to have unspecified items confiscated from the home.

Novak, who worked in the narcotics division, told the fiancee that if she cooperated with the confiscation, no charges would be filed, the defense motion stated.

At Novak's request, the woman met with him in person at the Sheriff's Department. After that, using his department-issued cellphone, Novak continued to contact the woman, sometimes with text messages of a sexual nature, according to the documents.

On April 28, 2011, McHenry County deputies, including Novak, arrived at the home, and the fiancee signed a consent form to allow them to search the residence. She also was coached on what to say in a written statement, while Novak, whom she called "Slick," questioned her, the defense alleged.

The next day, the woman's fiance was arrested, and as she waited outside jail for him to be released, the documents stated, Novak initiated an exchange of nearly 50 text messages, which became increasingly sexual in nature.

At the officer's request, the woman called him on his police-issued phone, and he gave her directions to his home, the defense alleged. When she arrived there, hours later, she performed a sex act on him, and some of his semen remained on the fiancee's dress, the documents stated. After that, Novak allegedly kept contacting the woman seeking sex.

Stinespring maintained the search and seizure in the case was illegal because it was obtained by deceiving the fiancee. He requested a copy of the sheriff's internal investigation of Novak this summer after his client brought it up. He said the allegations were based on what the fiancee told his client, and that she was interviewed by sheriff's investigators and gave them the dress.

"I think it's definitely misconduct," Stinespring said.

The woman's fiance was charged with having more than 100 pills of various prescription drugs, including narcotics like the painkiller oxycodone and the anti-anxiety drug Xanax, without prescriptions, Assistant State's Attorney Michael Combs said. The most serious charge is a Class X felony punishable by six to 30 years in prison.

The defendant also was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm on allegations he had a 12-gauge Mossberg shotgun. Combs said the defendant was prohibited from owning a firearm because of a 1992 felony conviction for dealing cocaine in Kentucky.

Combs, chief of the criminal division, argued against letting the defense see Novak's personnel file or the results of the internal investigation of the matter, saying they were irrelevant to the charges against the defendant. Judge Sharon Prather said she would review the documents in question and scheduled a ruling for Oct. 18.

While Novak might have violated the sheriff's rules, Combs said he did not believe a crime was committed because the allegation involved consensual sex between adults and did not affect how the case was handled.