A former Cleveland police officer was sentenced to 4 and a half years in prison after pleading guilty to urinating on a 12-year-old girl who refused a ride from him as she waited for a school bus.
Cleveland.com reports that Solomon Nhiwatiwa showed no emotion when he spoke to Common Pleas Court Judge Wanda C. Jones on Tuesday (Jan. 21) and said, “I would like to apologize to the victim.”
Before sitting down, he added, “I take responsibility for what I did,” Cleveland.com reports.
According to Cleveland.com , Jones said she wasn’t convinced that the 34-year-old man was truly sorry for his conduct, adding that his crimes required consecutive sentences.
According to court records, Cleveland.com reports, Nhiwatiwa was off-duty when he drove up to the schoolgirl as she waited for the bus, and asked her if she needed a ride. When she refused, he drove away only to return a short time later on foot.
Court records indicate that’s when Nhiwatiwa pulled out his cellphone and recorded himself as he urinated on the girl, who yelled, “What is your problem?” to which he responded, “What’s wrong, b***h?” Cleveland.com reports.
The records also said, the outlet reports, that Nhiwatiwa continued recording video with his cellphone as he walked away.
Prosecutors said DNA taken from the girl’s clothes matched Nhiwatiwa’s, and she identified him in a photo lineup.
Nhiwatiwa faced a maximum of 7 1/2 years in prison after he pleaded guilty in December to charges of attempted kidnapping, pandering obscenity, disseminating matter harmful to juveniles and endangering children in the Aug. 16 attack, Cleveland.com reports.
According to the outlet, the girl’s father told Judge Jones that both he and his daughter are struggling to cope with feelings of blame.
“She knew what she was supposed to do, and she did everything that she was supposed to do,” he said.
According to Cleveland.com, Jones and Assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Jennifer Driscoll criticized the Euclid police department for not taking the girl’s report seriously at first.
“She was victimized twice,” Jones said, the outlet reports. “The fact that [the report] wasn’t taken right away is quite disturbing to this court.”
According to reports, as part of his plea agreement, Nhiwatiwa agreed to resign from his position with the Cleveland police.
The outlet added that Nhiwatiwa was disciplined four times in his five years as a Cleveland police officer and was involved in a fatal shooting while working as a security guard in 2012 before he joined the force.
Cleveland Cop Gets Over 4 Years In Prison After Urinating On Girl As She Waited For School Bus was originally published on blackamericaweb.com
