CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A former police officer and firefighter in West Virginia convicted in a rape case involving a 16-year-old girl was sentenced Wednesday to the maximum of 14 years in prison.
Christopher Lee Osborne was sentenced in federal court in Charleston for his June guilty plea to violating the girl’s civil rights by forcibly raping her at the Danville Fire Department in January 2021.
Osborne, 26, of Uneeda in Boone County, was a part-time officer with the Marmet Police Department and a firefighter with both the Charleston and Danville fire departments. He admitted in court that he used his position and status to forcibly sexually assault the victim in the fire station bunkhouse.
“This result is a testament to the courage of the victim who came forward to tell her story,” Assistant U.S. Attorney General Kristen Clarke said in a statement. “The Department of Justice will continue to seek justice for such victims, and to hold accountable perpetrators who abuse their authority to target the vulnerable.”