NORFOLK, Va. — A former Portsmouth police officer was sentenced to 18 years in prison in federal court on Tuesday for forcibly sexually assaulting a minor back in 2019 while on duty.
According to court documents, Former Officer Cleshaun A. Cox, 31, admitted that in May 2019, while he was in uniform and working in his official capacity as an officer with the Portsmouth Police Department, he encountered a 17-year-old female during a call for a noise complaint.
After a more senior officer told the female to drive home, Cox followed her in his marked police vehicle, and instead instructed the 17-year-old to drive to a parking lot.
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There, he offered her a "deal" whereby he would not charge her for fabricated traffic offenses if she would perform a sexual act, according to the press release.
The female stated that she did not want to engage in sexual acts with Cox. Nevertheless, he instructed her to get into his vehicle as he drove to an isolated area. There, he raped her, a press release states.
According to a press release, the female complied because she feared Cox and believed that she had no other choice.
“The defendant abused the public trust and his authority as a law enforcement officer in one of the most egregious ways imaginable,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in a press release. “We commend this brave victim and her family for coming forward. We will continue to seek justice for victims of sexual misconduct by law enforcement officers and others who abuse their authority.”
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Cox admitted that he knew the female was only 17-years-old and that he knew that she did not want to have sex with him. He also admitted to lying to state investigators about his actions that night.
“There are no words to describe Officer Cox’s breach of our public trust,” Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, said. “The pain that he inflicted on the victim and the community is incalculable, but I hope this resolution can bring some measure of peace to those affected.”
In August 2021, Cox pleaded guilty in Portsmouth Circuit Court to charges of carnal knowledge and abduction. He was sentenced to serve five years in prison.
He completed his state sentencing pending federal sentencing and served approximately four and a half years in state custody.
