PORTSMOUTH, Va. — A former Portsmouth police officer was sentenced Tuesday to 18 years in prison for sexually assaulting a minor while on duty.
Cleshaun Cox, 31, will also have to register as a sex offender under the Federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said. His sentencing comes after he pleaded guilty in July to a federal charge of "violating the civil rights of a minor victim by forcibly sexually assaulting her."
The incident happened "on or about May 27, 2019" during a police response to a reported noise complaint, the department said.
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According to the DOJ, Cox encountered a 17-year-old during the response and followed her in his marked police vehicle, telling her to drive into a parking lot.
There, he coerced the girl into performing sexual acts with him while he was in uniform and on duty, telling her he wouldn't charge her for fabricated traffic offenses in exchange.
The DOJ said the victim complied because she was afraid of him and believed she didn't have any other choice.
"Cox admitted that he knew that [the victim] was only 17 years old and that he knew that she did not want to have sex with him," the DOJ wrote in a news release. "Cox also admitted to lying to state investigators about his actions that night."
Cox was previously sentenced to five years in prison for carnal knowledge and abduction. He pleaded guilty to those charges in Portsmouth Circuit Court in August 2021 and served around four and a half years in state custody.
“There are no words to describe Officer Cox’s breach of our public trust,” Jessica Aber, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, wrote in a news release. “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.”