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Former Dartmouth officer sentenced for raping young stepdaughter, molesting teen
Shawn Souza was convicted on Wednesday afternoon after a three-day jury trial in Fall River Superior Court.
A former Dartmouth police officer was sentenced Thursday morning after being convicted of raping his young stepdaughter and molesting a teenage family friend, officials say.
Shawn Souza was convicted on Wednesday afternoon after a three-day jury trial in Fall River Superior Court of two counts of aggravated rape of a child, one count of rape of a child by force, and one count of indecent assault and battery of a person 14 or older, according to a statement from Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III.
Souza was sentenced to serve 10 to 15 years in state prison followed by two years of supervised probation, according to the statement.
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“The officer’s actions were a betrayal of the trust that the public holds in us,” Dartmouth Police Chief Brian P. Levesque said in the statement. “We take an oath to protect our citizens, not harm them—especially the most vulnerable.”
Authorities said evidence from the trial proved that Souza raped his stepdaughter multiple times when she was between the ages of 6 and 8 years old from 2011 to 2013.
Souza was also convicted of molesting a 15-year-old girl in 2013, the statement said. The girl was Souza’s family friend and was at his home with her family to watch a movie when the incident occurred.
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Both victims testified and provided victim impact statements.
This was the second time the case was tried — it was originally declared a mistrial in 2022.
“I commend the victims and their families for persevering through this difficult ordeal, including a second trial,” Quinn said in the statement. “I admire the victim for telling the court today that she refused to be defined by what the defendant did to her.”
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