SHIELDS OF SHAME • PREMIUM INVESTIGATION • ATLANTA, GEORGIA
The Badge Became His Weapon: The Crimes, Conviction and Police History of Lionel Joseph Dely
A 50-year sentence for rape and violation of oath. Three more women who testified. A sustained school bus misconduct case. Years of Atlanta Police records. And an appellate ruling that left the conviction standing.
Officer: Lionel Joseph Dely | Agency: Atlanta Police Department | Service: sworn March 17, 2016 to February 22, 2022 | Convicted: October 21, 2022 | Sentence: November 30, 2022 | Rape: 45 years | Violation of oath: additional consecutive five years | Lifetime probation to follow | Georgia POST certification revoked January 13, 2024 | Convictions affirmed on appeal March 13, 2025.
A police badge in a private apartment
On January 31, 2022, a woman in Cherokee County welcomed a new client into her home for a scheduled massage. According to the later published Georgia Court of Appeals opinion, the advertisement described erotic massage services but did not offer sex acts. The distinction matters: an agreement to provide a massage is not consent to sexual intercourse.
During the appointment, Dely interrupted the massage, retrieved his wallet and displayed a silver Atlanta Police badge. The appellate court described testimony that he claimed the woman was under investigation, said he had been recording her and ordered her to sit down. The encounter shifted from a paid appointment into a confrontation with someone invoking state authority. After the massage resumed, the court recounted evidence that Dely forcibly penetrated her despite her objections. The woman testified that she pushed against him, told him to stop and eventually became unresponsive to the situation. These facts are drawn from the appellate court’s account of the trial evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to the jury’s verdict.
The appellate opinion reports that Dely later offered the woman $10,000 to leave the industry. She told friends what happened, then reported the assault to authorities. A forensic examination documented injuries, and investigators recovered Dely’s DNA from vaginal swabs. The evidence led to his arrest on February 11, 2022.
Read the March 13, 2025 Georgia Court of Appeals opinion, Dely v. State, A24A1799.
The women who came forward
The Cherokee County District Attorney’s Office announced that investigators identified three additional women who described sexual assaults in other jurisdictions. Those allegations did not become separate Cherokee County charges. The women nevertheless testified in the five-day trial. Thirteen prosecution witnesses appeared, and jurors reached a unanimous verdict after approximately an hour of deliberation.
The appellate opinion adds important detail about one witness, identified as A.F., who said she met Dely through a dating website and had previously had consensual sex with him. She described two later encounters in 2021 when she did not consent. The appellate court explained that earlier consensual intimacy does not automatically establish consent to a later encounter, and upheld admission of her testimony under Georgia’s sexual-assault evidence statute. These additional incidents were testimony admitted at the rape trial, not separate convictions in the Cherokee County judgment.
A 50-year sentence, followed by lifetime probation
On October 21, 2022, a Cherokee County jury convicted Dely of rape and violation of oath by a public officer. Superior Court Judge Tony Baker imposed 45 years to serve for rape plus five consecutive years for violation of oath. The sentence also provided for lifetime probation with sex offender conditions, victim no-contact restrictions, $1,100 restitution and a Fourth Amendment waiver as reported by the District Attorney. The judge emphasized the betrayal inherent in using a badge to prey on women.
Inside the prosecutor’s official account: four women, one conviction, and a badge used as intimidation
The Cherokee County District Attorney’s December 5, 2022 release provides the prosecution’s detailed account of how the case unfolded. After Dely displayed his Atlanta Police badge during the January 31 massage appointment, the woman reported that he claimed to be conducting an investigation and then sexually assaulted her. Prosecutors said she feared retaliation because he had used his law enforcement position to intimidate and threaten her. A friend persuaded her to call 911 three days later. Investigators used a sexual assault examination, digital forensic evidence and DNA testing, and Dely was arrested February 11.
Investigators from the Cherokee Sheriff’s Office and District Attorney’s Office subsequently identified three additional women who reported sexual assaults by Dely in other jurisdictions. Cherokee County did not charge him with those incidents because they occurred outside its jurisdiction, but all three women testified about their experiences at his trial. Their testimony must be distinguished from the two counts on which he was convicted.
Thirteen prosecution witnesses testified during the five-day trial. Jurors deliberated just over an hour before unanimously finding Dely guilty of rape and violation of oath. At sentencing, two women gave victim impact statements describing fear, trauma and their reasons for speaking publicly. Superior Court Judge Tony Baker condemned Dely’s use of his badge to exploit women. The court imposed 45 years to serve for rape and five additional consecutive years for violation of oath, followed by lifetime probation with sex offender conditions.
Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Katie Gropper and Assistant District Attorney Rachel Hines prosecuted the case. This official announcement is a particularly important source because it distinguishes the criminal verdict, additional witnesses’ allegations, forensic investigative steps and the precise sentencing structure.
Read the complete Cherokee County DA announcement (PDF) ↗
Source: Office of District Attorney Shannon Wallace, Blue Ridge Judicial Circuit, December 5, 2022. Two-page official release, hosted in the Shields of Shame evidence archive.
Original Cherokee County District Attorney press release, December 5, 2022.
The appeal: the conviction survives
NEW PRIMARY SOURCE: The appellate judges explain why the conviction stands
On March 13, 2025, the Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed Lionel Dely’s rape and violation-of-oath convictions in Dely v. State, docket A24A1799. This opinion goes beyond the initial news coverage. It reconstructs the trial evidence, describes the medical and DNA evidence, identifies Dely’s legal challenges, and explains why the appellate court rejected them.
The court recounted testimony that Dely was assigned to Atlanta Police’s Proactive Enforcement and Interdiction unit in January 2022 and had not been engaged in undercover investigations with other jurisdictions since approximately August 2020. That fact matters because, according to the victim’s testimony, he displayed his badge and claimed she was under investigation during the January 31 appointment. The court described her refusal and resistance, the forensic nurse’s observations of abrasions and cervical bruising, and DNA evidence recovered from vaginal swabs. The appellate opinion presents these facts under the standard requiring the evidence to be viewed in the light most favorable to the jury verdict.
One appeal argument concerned three witnesses whose testimony explained why they came forward or hoped others would not be harmed. Dely argued that his trial attorney should have objected because their remarks improperly suggested future dangerousness. The appellate majority rejected the ineffective-assistance claim, finding the testimony relevant to the witnesses’ motivations, which the defense had challenged. Judge Hodges separately concurred in the result but disagreed with the majority’s broader treatment of the future-dangerousness doctrine.
A second argument concerned testimony from a woman identified as A.F. She described two encounters in July and November 2021 when she said Dely had intercourse with her without consent, despite their previous consensual relationship. The court upheld admission of that testimony under Georgia’s rule permitting other sexual-assault evidence, OCGA § 24-4-413, after consideration of unfair prejudice under Rule 403. These were other-acts allegations admitted as evidence, not separate convictions in this case.
The appellate court affirmed the judgment; it did not conduct a new jury trial. The opinion also states that Dely did not contest the sufficiency of the evidence on appeal. This ruling is a valuable primary document for subscribers evaluating the legal arguments rather than relying only on prosecutors’ statements.
Read the Georgia Court of Appeals decision (PDF) ↗
Source: Georgia Court of Appeals, Dely v. State, A24A1799, decided March 13, 2025. The PDF is hosted in the Shields of Shame evidence archive.
In a decision issued March 13, 2025, the Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment. Dely argued that his trial counsel had been ineffective for failing to object to certain witness testimony and challenged the admission of another woman’s account of nonconsensual sex. The appellate court rejected both grounds. It found no reversible error in allowing the evidence and concluded that the challenged testimony did not establish ineffective assistance of counsel. The decision is an important later chapter in this case, not simply a repeat of the original verdict.
Before the conviction: what Atlanta Police records show
The documents in this subscriber archive cover several administrative investigations. They require careful reading: sustained means an allegation was supported; not sustained means the evidence did not establish the violation; exonerated means the conduct was found justified or otherwise not a policy violation. These classifications are not interchangeable.
2017: a written reprimand
OPS file 17-I-0285-AT records a written reprimand under work rule 4.2.34, abuse of leave. The file documents an earlier disciplinary matter, not an accusation of sexual assault.
2018: the stopped school bus
On March 9, 2018, Dely drove an Atlanta Police vehicle near 1073 McDaniel Street. Department investigators found that he passed a stopped yellow school bus while its visual warning signals were operating. Surveillance captured the police vehicle. In his June 9 employee statement, Dely said he did not recall seeing or passing a stopped school bus and acknowledged that he had been looking at the mobile data terminal for the address of his next call. The department sustained a conduct violation under rule 4.1.4 and imposed a three-working-day suspension without pay.
The contrast between the officer’s recollection and the video-based finding is central to understanding this disciplinary file. It is not evidence of the later rape, but it is a documented example of APD finding a violation and issuing discipline.
2019: the Cobb County pursuit inquiry
OPS file 19-I-0433-MISC examines Dely’s connection to a personal vehicle involved in a Cobb County police pursuit on August 14, 2019. According to APD’s investigation, the vehicle was associated with him but the evidence did not establish that he was the driver or that he violated the charged conduct rule. The final disposition was exonerated. It would be inaccurate to present this file as a proven act of misconduct.
2019 and 2020: vehicle investigations
Another 2019 vehicle investigation, file 19-I-0406-VA, resulted in a not-sustained finding. The 2020 file 20-I-0406-VA records an exonerated disposition. Subscribers can inspect the underlying files rather than treating the mere existence of an internal investigation as proof of wrongdoing.
The oath, the training and the loss of police authority
On March 17, 2016, Dely signed a law enforcement code of ethics describing the badge as a public trust and committing officers to protect the innocent and respect constitutional rights. The oath is reproduced in the archive. Georgia POST records identify his APD termination date as February 22, 2022, and record a final certification revocation dated January 13, 2024. The training profile also documents instruction in use of force, de-escalation and other law enforcement subjects. Training attendance does not demonstrate that the officer followed that training.
Watch the Lionel Joseph Dely video playlist
Explore the accompanying video collection alongside the criminal case narrative, court decision and original police records. The videos are presented as supporting material; the documents below remain the primary sources for the reported findings.
Open the full playlist on YouTube ↗ | Subscribe to Shields of Shame ↗
The premium evidence archive
This collection is designed for subscribers who want to inspect the primary-source records behind the reporting. Each file includes the agency, administrative control number where available, what the record addresses and the documented outcome. Files open in a separate tab. Redacted and unredacted versions may overlap; inspect any unredacted personnel pages for private identifying information before enabling subscriber downloads.
2017 internal affairs investigation, written reprimand
The 2017 OPS file 17-I-0285-AT documents a written reprimand for work rule 4.2.34, abuse of leave.
2018 school bus investigation, complete file
OPS 18-I-0234-MISC. Sustained conduct violation after surveillance showed Dely passing a stopped school bus displaying warning signals. The disciplinary record shows a three-day suspension.
2018 school bus investigation, redacted
Alternative redacted version of the 2018 disciplinary file.
2019 Cobb County incident, redacted
OPS 19-I-0433-MISC concerns Dely’s personal vehicle and a Cobb County police pursuit. APD exonerated Dely on its conduct allegation.
2019 Cobb County incident, additional copy
Companion copy of the Cobb County incident investigation.
2019 vehicle incident
Separate 2019 vehicle accident investigation. The final administrative finding was not sustained.
2019 vehicle incident, redacted
Redacted companion file for the 2019 vehicle incident.
2020 vehicle accident investigation
OPS 20-I-0406-VA, an additional vehicle investigation. The documented outcome was exonerated.
2020 vehicle investigation, redacted
Redacted companion to the 2020 vehicle file.
Atlanta Police personnel file
Personnel and employment documents, including signed ethics acknowledgments. Personal identifiers may appear and should be reviewed before granting subscriber access.
Signed oath of office
Dely’s 2016 oath and law enforcement code of ethics, including promises to protect people and uphold the law.
Additional visual evidence
Questions this record raises
What screening, supervision and internal reporting mechanisms existed during Dely’s employment? What, if anything, could APD have known before the 2022 criminal investigation? The available files establish administrative dispositions and a later criminal conviction, but do not by themselves show that the department had prior notice of sexual assault allegations. That distinction is essential to a credible accountability investigation.
Source notes and publication safeguards
Criminal conviction and appellate outcome are established by the Cherokee County District Attorney and the Georgia Court of Appeals. Administrative findings come from the Atlanta Police OPS records and Georgia POST officer profile. Accounts of the three other women are trial testimony and should not be characterized as separate convictions. A screenshot labeled with a 2072 maximum release date has been included as an archival image, not an independently verified current release date. Survivor identities and sensitive personal identifiers should not be republished.
Sources: Georgia Court of Appeals | Cherokee DA | AJC reporting | Atlanta Police internal affairs, personnel and Georgia POST records in the Shields of Shame archive.
SHIELDS OF SHAME PREMIUM • Independent document-based reporting. This archive is intended for accountability research and should be read with attention to the difference between allegations, administrative findings, trial testimony and criminal convictions.