WORCESTER, Mass. — Still maintaining his innocence through his lawyer, a former police officer convicted of rape last week was sentenced Monday to 5 to 7 years in state prison.

A Worcester Superior Court jury found Rajat Sharda guilty Thursday  of sexually assaulting a woman in August 2013 after the on-duty officer came across the woman and her boyfriend having sex in a vehicle in the parking lot of Bancroft Tower.  The jury returned convictions for rape, open and gross lewdness, witness intimidation and larceny under $250.

Saying the one-time officer had been found guilty of “an ugly and brutal act of rape,” Judge David Ricciardone sentenced him Monday to 5 to 7 years of imprisonment, followed by ten years of probation.

“I don’t agree with the decision. I don’t agree with the verdict. My client is innocent,” defense lawyer Peter L. Ettenberg told the judge during the sentencing hearing after Assistant District Attorney Ryan P. Donahue recommended that the 34-year-old Mr. Sharda be sentenced to 12 to 15 years behind bars with probation to follow.

“His actions are frankly disgusting,” Mr. Donahue told the court. He said the former officer was in a position of power when he took advantage of a “vulnerable” victim and violated the public trust in the process.  While acknowledging that advisory sentencing guidelines called for a prison term of 5 to 7 years, the assistant district attorney said a sentence of 12 to 15 years was warranted because of aggravating factors in the case.

Mr. Ettenberg asked the judge to spare his client a jail or prison sentence and place him on straight probation.

Referring to letters of support written on his client’s behalf by members of his family, Mr. Ettenberg described Mr. Sharda as a deeply religious man who is devoted to his family, including his wife and year-old son.

“The conduct for which he is accused is totally against his religion (Hindu). His family would banish him if he did what he has been convicted of,” Mr. Ettenberg said.

He told the judge Mr. Sharda had already lost his job as a police officer after making history as the first officer of Indian descent in the city of Worcester and said a prison sentence would be “extraordinarily difficult” for him because of his former occupation.

“I ask the court, don’t make this worse,” Mr. Ettenberg said.

The former officer’s victim, a 29-year-old Connecticut woman, was in court for the sentencing, but did not wish to be heard, according to Mr. Donahue. He said the woman agreed with the prosecution’s recommended sentence.

According to testimony during the trial, the woman and her boyfriend were having sex in the back of her mother’s SUV on the morning of Aug. 6, 2013, when Officer Sharda pulled up in his cruiser, handcuffed her boyfriend, ordered her out of the vehicle and sexually assaulted her. The woman testified that the officer then masturbated in front of her, ejaculating on her leg and on a blanket she had wrapped around her to conceal her nakedness.

She said the officer took the blanket and placed it in the trunk of his cruiser before threatening to do harm to her family if she told anyone what had happened. He then allowed her and her boyfriend to leave, according to the woman. The blanket was never recovered by police.

Mr. Sharda denied the allegations from the witness stand.

The investigation that led to the charges against him was launched after the complaining witness ran into a police officer she knew several weeks later and told him about the sexual assault.

Mr. Sharda’s employment with the city ended in September of 2014, shortly after he was indicted on the charges for which he was convicted.

As conditions of probation, Mr. Sharda was ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation and any related treatment recommended by the Probation Department. He was further ordered to have no contact with the victim or any witnesses in the case and to submit to GPS monitoring for the first year of his probation.

This story written by Gary Murray

Oklahoma Highway Patrolman Eric Roberts

SAPULPA, Okla. — A judge has decided that an Oklahoma highway patrol officer accused of raping and assaulting three women must stand trial for his alleged crimes.

Eric William Roberts, 42, was arrested in September after the Oklahoma Highway Patrol completed its investigation of Roberts, who was originally charged with over a dozen violent crimes.

The investigation determined that Roberts had turned his dashboard camera off during six traffic stops, including two where he is alleged to have committed the sexual assaults.

Related: Ohio Cop Who Killed Man Just Months After Being Hired Now Jailed for Raping a Teenaged Girl

Roberts was placed on administrative leave after an incident in July where a woman alleges he coerced her into having sex with him during a traffic stop. The woman filed a complaint against Roberts and contacted an Attorney, Kevin Adams. Adams filed a lawsuit alleging civil rights violations, and later amended the suit to include a separate case where Roberts is also accused of rape.

Creek County Special Judge Richard Woolery scheduled an arraignment for June 30 on counts of rape, indecent exposure, sexual battery, embezzlement, and bribery.

Correction: We originally wrote that Justin Bentz shot and killed John Sowders, when it appears he fired his weapon at Sowders but missed. A bullet fired by another officer was responsible for Sowders’s death. We apologize for the error.

LIMA, Ohio — A Lima police officer was jailed yesterday after his department received a complaint that he had raped a teenage girl.

Lima police officer Justin Bentz, 27, is accused of raping a minor, and was booked at the Allen County jail yesterday afternoon. The alleged incident took place in nearby Shawnee Township.

TruthVoice spoke to Lt. Andy Green with the Lima Police Department, who said Bentz’s employment was immediately terminated following his arrest, and that his department was cooperating fully with the Shawnee Township police. Lt. Green said Bentz was still a probationary officer, and had only recently been hired in September.

Related: Oklahoma Highway Patrolman To Stand Trial for Multiple Rapes

Prior to his employment with the Lima Police Department, Officer Bentz was hired as a police officer by the Fort Shawnee Police Department in November 2011. During his employment, Bentz and another officer shot at and killed John Sowders, 20, just months after Bentz was hired straight out of the police academy. The official report, which had witness accounts only by police officers, says Sowders threatened to kill the Bentz with a knife. No officers were charged in the shooting.

Shawnee Township Police Chief Mike Keith told TruthVoice that Bentz was not on duty when the alleged incident occurred. A press release states that Bentz was arrested by Shawnee Township detective when Bentz reported for duty yesterday afternoon.

Bentz was arraigned this afternoon at 2:00 PM. Prosecutors are expected to charge Bentz formally within the next 48 hours.

A Clermont County grand jury indicted a Village of Bethel, Ohio police officer on rape charges Thursday.

Brandon Brenes, 25, was booked into the Clermont County Jail later the same day after a warrant was issued for his arrest.

Brenes faces charges including rape and sexual battery. According to the Clermont County Clerk of Courts, the alleged offense happened Dec. 28, 2014.

Bethel Village Administrator Travis Dotson said Brenes submitted his resignation to the department Thursday.

He was promoted to full-time officer with the Bethel Police Department in November, Dotson said, but was placed on administrative leave Dec. 30.

Officials said he was indicted after a lengthy investigation. Clermont County Assistant Prosecutor Scott O’Reilly told WCPO’s Jason Law that alcohol was involved in the incident.

The original complaint came from a home in the Village of Amelia. The prosecutor’s office said Amelia police and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation are handling the case.

The grand jury report states Brenes, “did engage in sexual conduct, … when the other person’s ability to resist or consent is substantially impaired because of mental or physical condition or because of advanced age.”

Bethel officials issued a statement Thursday afternoon saying:

Like the public at large, the Village of Bethel takes all allegations of criminal wrongdoing against its employees very seriously. While the allegations in this particular case are significant, we are unable to comment on the merits of the allegations or the status of the legal proceedings. The Village of Bethel is not involved in the investigation, prosecution or defense of the individual involved in this matter. At this time, we will reserve further comment until the appropriate legal proceedings are concluded.

Dotson said Brenes has been on paid administrative leave since Dec. 30, 2014. He said the offense reportedly happened outside of the city’s jurisdiction.

O’Reilly said Brenes faces up to 11 years in custody if convicted on the rape charge and up to 5 years if convicted on the sexual battery charge. A jury will have an option to convict on either count.

While officials could not say if Brenes was in custody, they did say he was scheduled to be arraigned in Clermont County Court at 10 a.m. Friday.

No other details have been released.