A former DuPage County sheriff’s officer has been found guilty of having sexual contact with a woman who was being held by the county as an inmate.

The bench trial conviction against Ricardo Hardy, 54, of Elgin, was announced Wednesday by Judge Joseph Bugos about a month after the case was heard, a news release from the DuPage County state’s attorney’s office said.

Hardy was found guilty of five counts of custodial sexual misconduct and five counts of official misconduct, all class 3 felonies.

Hardy was assigned to the county’s corrections bureau when officials learned in May 2023 that he’d had sexual intercourse and other sexual contact with a female inmate on at least two occasions in the woman’s cell and in the shower/bathroom area between March 13, 2023, and April 26, 2023, the release said.

Prosecutors also charged that Hardy had arranged for $300 to be put in the inmate’s commissary account.

“As a deputy sheriff assigned to corrections, Mr. Hardy clearly held a position of authority over his victim,” State’s Attorney Rober Berlin said in a statement. “He then used his position as a corrections officer to engage in sexual activities with an inmate.

“His actions are nothing short of a complete abuse of authority and a betrayal of the trust placed in him not only by the sheriff’s office but also the residents of DuPage County.”

Hardy’s next court appearance is scheduled for Aug. 14.