WASHINGTON, Aug. 5 (UPI) -- A former officer of the Jackson, Miss., Police Department was sentenced to life in prison for sexually assaulting a detainee, the Justice Department said.
Maceo Simmons was sentenced Monday for sexually assaulting a 19-year-old woman he detained after a traffic stop, the federal agency said Tuesday in a news release.
The incident occurred Sept. 19, 1999. The victim was a passenger in a car stopped by police for running a stop sign. Simmons handcuffed the victim and placed her in the back of his patrol car, the Justice Department said. He and another officer drove to an isolated location, where Simmons repeatedly raped the victim.
"The court's sentence reflects the gravity of the defendant's egregious conduct," said Grace Chung Becker, acting assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division. "Although nothing can erase the scars of a rape, hopefully, the court's action will help the victim feel safer knowing that the perpetrator is behind bars for life."
