Providence Policeman Gets 40 Years for Rape
Hired and trained to uphold the laws of the land and protect local citizenry, there is something especially tragic when it is "the law" found to breaking the law. Such is the case in a recent trial of a 40 year-old Providence policeman that has been sentenced to 40 years in prison for the March 2007 rape of a woman.
The Boston Globe reports that Marcus Huffman has been convicted of first-degree sexual assault for the on-duty rape of his then 19 year-old victim. Huffman encountered the intoxicated female outside a bar when he offered to drive her home. Instead, Huffman took her to a local substation, raped her, and left her on the side of the road until she eventually made her way to her aunt's house. The encounter did not end at the substation -- when authorities were called, Huffman was one of the responding officers on the scene.
Superior Court Judge on the case, Netti Vogel, is quoted by the Globe: "This is something out of a horror movie. The defendant used his authority as a police officer to lure his victim, a physically helpless woman, into a police cruiser with the pretense of taking her home. He never intended to take her home. The substation was the perfect place to commit the perfect crime." Before sentencing, Huffman gave a tearful apology to his victim. The only defense offered for his actions was that the encounter was consensual.
Huffman will quickly learn that he is not above the law and hopefully this case will not cause too much damage to the credibility of the Providence police force. The prosecutor in Huffman's case noted this concern in his closing arguments, "What he's done in injecting this level of mistrust and fear of police officers is devastating." In addition to his prison term, Marcus Huffman will also serve twenty years of probation, and register as a sex offender when he is released from prison.
Related Resources:
- Officer gets 40 years for rape at substation (NBC News)
- Rape (FindLaw)
- Sexual Assault (FindLaw)