A former reserve Columbus police officer was sentenced to 20 years in state prison Tuesday after pleading guilty to statutory rape last week in Lowndes County Circuit Court.
Richard Carr, 46, admitted he had sex with his ex-girlfriend”s 15-year-old daughter when the girl was 13 and 14 and her mother was at work.
Carr, who was charged with two counts of statutory rape, was sentenced to 25 years in the Mississippi Department of Corrections for each charge by 16th Circuit Court Judge Jim Kitchens.
However, five years of each charge were suspended, leaving Carr to serve 20 years.
Besides serving his time without eligibility of parole, Carr must pay court costs, endure five years of post-release supervision, register as a sex offender and cannot be alone with anyone under 16.
Carr, a 14-year reserve officer, was arrested in Oktibbeha County in 2009 after the victim confessed to her mother that she and Carr had sex “various times,” according to the indictment.
The encounters happened at his girlfriend”s Columbus house while he was baby-sitting the girl and her siblings, the indictment said.
Carr”s family, who were at the courthouse for the sentencing, declined to comment on the ruling.
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