Joel Dejesus

Introduction

Sgt. Joel Dejesus, a 37-year-old New York Police Department sergeant who joined the department in 2012, turned himself in to the Bronx District Attorney’s Office on a Thursday morning to face charges of computer trespass, official misconduct, and unlawful dissemination or publication of an intimate image, according to prosecutors and police sources. He is accused of stalking a female underling online and sharing naked photos of her after she ended their relationship. Dejesus was released on his own recognizance at his arraignment because the charges are not eligible for bail, and the NYPD has since suspended him without pay. His next court appearance is scheduled for Dec. 16.

Background Information

Dejesus had been a member of the NYPD since 2012 and held the rank of sergeant when the case became public. According to police sources, the allegations grew out of a relationship between Dejesus and a woman who worked under him, which she ended. Prosecutors and sources allege that after the breakup he stalked her online and disseminated intimate images of her, and that he separately used department computer systems to look up the woman and her new boyfriend. The alleged conduct falls into two windows: the photo dissemination between July 13 and July 31, 2024, and the computer use between August 10, 2024 and July 27, 2025.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Charged, not convicted.

According to an indictment unsealed in Bronx Supreme Court, Dejesus allegedly “disseminated or published” the woman’s explicit photos between July 13 and July 31, 2024. Police sources said the dissemination came after the woman broke up with him, and that he had been stalking her online. It was not immediately clear where he allegedly distributed the images, and the account does not identify the platforms or recipients involved. The charge of unlawful dissemination or publication of an intimate image corresponds to this alleged conduct, and the date window it alleges marks the height of the episode.

The computer-related counts rest on separate alleged conduct. Dejesus is accused of using NYPD computer systems “without authorization” on several dates between August 10, 2024 and July 27, 2025, according to the court document. Sources said he allegedly looked up both his ex and her new boyfriend on the computer. That alleged misuse of police systems underlies the computer trespass and official misconduct charges he now faces.

Dejesus turned himself in to the Bronx District Attorney’s Office on a Thursday morning to face the three charges. At his arraignment, he was released on his own recognizance because the charges are not eligible for bail. The indictment is an accusation at this stage: no plea is reported, and the case will proceed through Bronx Supreme Court, where it was unsealed, beginning with his Dec. 16 appearance.

Public Reaction and Consequences

The case became public through Dejesus’s surrender and arraignment, with prosecutors and police sources describing the allegations to reporters. The most concrete professional consequence to date is the NYPD’s suspension of Dejesus without pay from the department, which the NYPD confirmed. The charging papers unsealed in Bronx Supreme Court lay out the alleged photo dissemination in July 2024 and the alleged unauthorized computer use stretching from August 2024 into July 2025. The officials and sources describing the case did so anonymously or through charging documents, and no comment from Dejesus or a defense attorney appears in the account.

Current Status

Dejesus is out of custody on his own recognizance, the charges having been deemed ineligible for bail at his arraignment. He has been suspended without pay from the NYPD, according to the department. His next scheduled court appearance is Dec. 16, when the case will continue moving through Bronx Supreme Court. The indictment charges computer trespass, official misconduct, and unlawful dissemination or publication of an intimate image, and alleges the photo dissemination occurred between July 13 and July 31, 2024, and the unauthorized computer use on several dates between August 10, 2024 and July 27, 2025. No plea or trial date is reported in the account.

Impact on Their Career/Life

A police career spanning more than a decade, one that carried Dejesus to the rank of sergeant, is now on hold: he stands suspended without pay while the criminal case proceeds. The allegations amount to a claim that he turned the tools of his own department against a woman who worked under him — searching police computers for her and her new boyfriend without authorization, and disseminating her intimate images after their breakup, according to the indictment and police sources. Until the charges are resolved at his Dec. 16 appearance and beyond, both his liberty and his livelihood remain in limbo.

Sources

• New York Post, “NYPD sergeant busted for allegedly stalking female underling, sharing her naked photos after break-up: sources”, October 29, 2026 — source