A former Massachusetts police officer charged with child rape was sentenced Thursday to 10-15 years in prison followed by two years of probation.
Shawn Souza, a former police officer in Dartmouth, was convicted Wednesday on two counts of aggravated rape of a child, one count of rape of a child by force and one count of indecent assault and battery of a person 14 or older, according to the Bristol County District Attorney's Office. The guilty verdict came following a three-day trial.
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Prosecutors had argued for a 20-25 year sentence, while defense asked for a 10-year prison term.
Souza was first accused of the crimes in 2019. The assaults happened before he became a police officer in 2008.
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During the trial, prosecutors presented evidence that Souza raped a family member on multiple occasions when she was between the ages of 6 and 8 between 2011 and 2013. He was also convicted of molesting a 15-year-old girl in 2013. The second victim was a family friend and was at Souza's home with her family to watch a movie when the incident occurred.
Both victims testified and provided the court with victim impact statements.
This was the second trial held in this case. A mistrial was declared in the first trial in 2022 when the jury could not agree on a verdict.
“The defendant took advantage of his position of trust and access to sexually abuse a six year old child over a two year period," Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn said in a statement. "It is a particularly aggravating factor that he was raping the victim while he was a police officer.... I commend the victims and their families for persevering through this difficult ordeal, including a second trial. I admire the victim for telling the court today that she refused to be defined by what the defendant did to her."
Dartmouth Police Chief Brian Levesque said in a statement that Souza's actions "were a betrayal of the trust that the public holds in us.We take an oath to protect our citizens, not harm them — especially the most vulnerable."
