Two police officers were behind bars last night amid allegations they filmed themselves sexually assaulting a teenage schoolgirl.
NSW Police Transport Command Senior Constables James Delinicolis, 29, and Angelo Dellosa, 30, abruptly swapped their police uniforms for prison greens after they were charged with an array of offences before being refused bail at Sutherland Local Court late on Wednesday.
Police sources indicate the allegations relate to claims Delinicolis and Dellosa met up with the 17-year-old and filmed sex acts with her.
Only a handful of the state’s most senior police knew about the investigation and it is believed the ongoing inquiry will also involve the Education Department.
An anonymous complaint about the officers was made in June and then investigated by the Professional Standards Unit, which decided there was enough evidence of a crime to set up a strike force.
Dellosa was charged with inciting an aggravated sexual assault, an attempted aggravated sexual assault in company and producing child abuse material.
Delinicolis was charged with an attempted aggravated sexual assault in company, producing child abuse material and misconduct in a public office.
The girl is currently a student at a high school in Sydney’s southwest.
Both men, who are attached to the Bankstown Public Transport Command, were refused bail and will remain in jail on remand until September 15 when they will appear at Central Local Court.
The pair was arrested in dramatic dawn raids just after 5am on Wednesday.
The raids were carried out at three Western Sydney locations.
Officers attached to the Professional Standards Committee seized several items relevant to their inquiries.
In an unusual situation, members of the media were unable to attend the pair’s court appearance, information about which was deliberately withheld until after the hearing was finished.
The announcement about their arrests and subsequent charges was not released until 4.15pm, after the court had closed for the day.
Police defended the decision not to release details of the arrests earlier citing “operational reasons.”
“There are still investigations ongoing,’’ a source said.
Both officers have been suspended without pay and the Professional Standards investigation is continuing under Strike Force Bensbach.
