Shawn Souza, a former Dartmouth Police officer, was sentenced to serve 10 to 15 years in prison on Thursday, Oct. 3 after being convicted for the raping of his young step-daughter and molestation of a teenaged family friend, according to Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn III.

Both victims testified in court Thursday morning with impact statements. According to Quinn, Souza’s conviction came after a three-day jury trial in Fall River Superior Court.

He was convicted of two counts of aggravated rape of a child and one count of rape of a child by force. Quinn said during the trial, evidence was presented, proving Souza raped his step-daughter on multiple occasions when she was between the ages of 6 and 8 years old from 2011 to 2013.

Souza was additionally convicted on one count of indecent assault and battery of a person 14 or older for the molesting of a 15-year-old girl in 2013. Quinn said the second victim was a family friend who was over Souza’s house with her family to watch a movie when the incident occurred.

Souza had been arrested for these acts back in April 2019. This was the second trial held on this matter, with a mistrial declared in 2022 when the jury in that trial could not come to agreement on a verdict, according to Quinn.

While prosecutors argued that the defendant should serve 20 to 25 years in state prison to be followed by seven years of supervised probation, the defense argued for a more lenient 10-year prison term in court Thursday morning, Quinn said.

Judge Susan Sullivan eventually sentenced the defendant to serve 10 to 15 years in state prison, followed by two years of supervised probation.

“The defendant took advantage of his position of trust and access to sexually abuse a 6-year-old child over a two-year period,” Quinn said. “The victim had viewed him as a father figure and eloquently said in court that he was the only father she had, and he should’ve protected her.”

He further stated it was “particularly aggravating” that these crimes occurred while Souza was a police officer.

“I commend the victims and their families for persevering through this difficult ordeal, including a second trial,” Quinn said. “I admire the victim for telling the court today that she refused to be defined by what the defendant did to her.”

Dartmouth Police Chief Brian Levesque, who was in attendance at the sentencing hearing, said, “The officer’s actions were a betrayal of the trust that the public holds in us. We take an oath to protect our citizens, not harm them — especially the most vulnerable.”

He added, “Clearly the officer’s actions do not represent the values of the Dartmouth Police Department. We offer our thoughts and support to the victims and their families.”