NORTH CAROLINA POLICE OFFICER SENTENCED
ON CIVIL RIGHTS VIOLATION

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights R. Alexander Acosta and U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina Frank D. Whitney today announced that a former Fayetteville, North Carolina police officer was sentenced to ten years in prison and three years of supervised release for sexually assaulting a woman while he was on duty. The ten-year sentence imposed was the statutory maximum allowed.

“Today’s sentence sends a loud and clear message that those law enforcement officers who use their authority to prey on their fellow citizens will be held accountable,” said Assistant Attorney General R. Alexander Acosta. “The Justice Department is committed to vigorously investigating and prosecuting officers who engage in criminal conduct. Such individuals compound their reprehensible crimes by tarnishing the tireless efforts of courageous law enforcement officers throughout our nation.”

“Our priorities include prosecuting those who violate the civil rights of others and those who abuse their position of public trust,” said U.S. Attorney Frank D. Whitney. “Officer Young did both, and now he is going to federal prison.”

In April 1998, while on duty as a Fayetteville Police Department Officer, Christopher L. Young stopped and arrested an eighteen-year-old woman. The defendant transported the victim to an isolated location and threatened her with increased charges if she did not comply with his demands. He then sexually assaulted her while she was handcuffed.

Young was indicted in April 2003 and pleaded guilty to one count of willfully depriving the victim of her civil rights in September 2003.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated this matter. Trial attorneys from the Criminal Section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina jointly prosecuted this case.

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