CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A former West Virginia parole officer was sentenced Thursday to 15 years in prison for violating the civil rights of a female parolee by sexually assaulting her.
Anthony Demetro received the maximum sentence in federal court in West Virginia’s southern district.
Prosecutors said Demetro, 44, was a parole officer with the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation when the assault occurred in April 2021. At the time, the woman was in a residential drug and alcohol treatment program as a condition of her parole.
“We thank the survivor for having the courage and strength to come forward to tell her story,” Kristen Clarke, an assistant attorney general with the U.S. Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, said,
She added in a statement: “The Department of Justice will continue to hold accountable public officials who exploit their power and authority to sexually assault and harm vulnerable people.”