Illinois State Police sergeant charged with sexual assault after nearly yearlong investigation

TINLEY PARK, Ill. (WLS) -- An Illinois State Police sergeant has been charged with criminal sexual assault and ordered held in custody after prosecutors alleged a woman woke up in her car partially clothed with no memory of the previous nine hours.

Douglas Lee, 54, remains jailed after a judge denied his release. Prosecutors said the alleged victim, who worked as a bartender, reported waking up in a parking lot shortly before 11 a.m. on Aug. 2, 2025, confused and unable to recall what had happened after a night out in Tinley Park.

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According to prosecutors, the woman had finished her bartending shift around midnight at a Tinley Park bar where Lee was a customer and acquaintance. After consuming several drinks during her shift, she and a group of women went to another bar nearby, where Lee joined them.

Prosecutors said the woman recalled entering the second bar, where Lee bought her a shot and a seltzer. She told investigators she later went to the dance floor with a friend and remembered nothing else until waking up in her car hours later.

The woman reported finding her leggings turned inside out, her bra on the seat next to her and her shirt tucked into her jacket pocket, prosecutors said.

Authorities said the woman called Lee to ask what had happened. Prosecutors alleged Lee drove to the parking lot and told her that everything was "consensual" and that he had taken her to a hotel.

The Cook County State's Attorney's Office said text messages show Lee acknowledged having sex with the woman and referenced the apparent "state" she was in and her inability to drive.

Afterward, the woman underwent a sexual assault examination. Prosecutors said a urine screen tested positive for THC, cocaine, and barbiturates. The woman told investigators she did not know how the cocaine or barbiturates got into her system.

Prosecutors also cited surveillance and investigative evidence. According to the state's attorney's office, Tinley Park camera footage showed the woman and Lee at a water fountain where she apparently attempted to sit down but fell. The two were later seen getting into Lee's SUV shortly before 2 a.m.

Authorities said license plate reader data and credit card records confirmed Lee took the woman to the Aura Hotel in Midlothian.

The state's attorney's office said DNA testing matched Lee to a sample recovered from the waistband of the woman's leggings. Following what prosecutors described as a nearly yearlong investigation, Tinley Park police arrested Lee, alleging the woman was unable to give knowing consent.

Lee has been with the Illinois State Police since 2004, according to the agency. State police said he is on administrative leave without pay while an internal investigation is conducted.

Lee is scheduled to return to court Tuesday.