Former DuPage County probation officer sentenced to 30 months after violating terms of work-release program

A former DuPage County probation officer was sentenced Wednesday to 30 months in prison for having inappropriate sexual contact with a female probationer after it was discovered he violated his probation by falsifying documents related to his one-year sentence of periodic imprisonment.

Christian Nunez, 34, formerly of Oswego, appeared in DuPage County Court where Judge John Kinsella handed down the sentence, which he will begin serving immediately, according to a DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office news release.

Nunez’s sentence allowed him to leave county jail as part of a work-release program. While participating in the program, he lost his job but never told authorities and continued to leave the jail by falsifying documents that verified his employment. The falsified documents claimed Nunez was working from Jan. 22 through Feb. 11, 2020, the release stated.

Nunez was sentenced on Nov. 1, 2019, to one year of periodic imprisonment after entering a blind guilty plea on June 6, 2019, to one count of official misconduct and one count of custodial sexual misconduct, the release stated.

Nunez served as the victim’s probation officer since her release from county jail in May 2017. During her probation, Nunez began contacting the victim from his personal cell phone. Additionally, on several occasions, Nunez sent naked photographs of himself to the woman and requested that she send naked photos and videos of herself, according to the release.

Nunez went to the woman’s home on March 11, 2018, and instructed her to perform oral sex on him, which she did. Following the encounter, the woman alerted Lombard police, who opened an investigation.

“Once again, without a care at all for what is right or wrong, Mr. Nunez did whatever he wanted to do,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in the release. “Two years ago, he took advantage of his position of authority to satisfy his sexual desires because that’s what he wanted to do. After losing his job, which allowed him out of jail for several hours a day, he forged documents that would allow him to continue that practice because that’s what he wanted to do.

"Thanks to the outstanding work of the DuPage County Jail and the DuPage County Sheriff’s Office, however, Mr. Nunez’s scheme has come to an end, and he will spend the next 30 months in the Illinois Department of Corrections where he will not be able to do whatever he wants to do.”

As part of his original sentencing, upon his release, Nunez will be required to register as a sex offender for 10 years.