Registered sex offender charged with impersonating police officer in Cicero

A 28-year-old man was charged with impersonating a police officer early Sunday in west suburban Cicero.

About 2:40 a.m. Donato Valdez used a flashing light to stop a person’s car as it was pulling out of a parking lot near the intersection of 29th Street and Cicero Avenue, according to Cicero town spokesman Roy Hanania.

Valdez, of Cicero, walked up to the car wearing a bulletproof vest and badge and identified himself as a correctional officer, Hanania said. He then ordered the driver to get out of the vehicle and performed a field sobriety test before attempting to force the victim into his vehicle.

After refusing to follow his orders, Valdez said he would “let the victim off with a warning,” Hanania said.

The driver filed a report with Cicero police later that morning and identified Valdez as the impersonator, Hanania said.

Valdez, a registered sex offender, was then taken into custody and charged with attempted kidnapping, false impersonation of a peace officer and unlawful restraint, Hanania said.

Valdez has been on the Illinois Sex Offender Registry since 2012, and he was convicted of criminal sexual abuse by force of a 21-year-old victim when he was 23, according to the registry.

His bail was set at $100,000 and his next court date was scheduled for Jan. 16 in Maywood, according to Cook County Sheriff’s Office records.

Anyone who has been approached by Valdez should call Cicero police at (708) 652-2130.