Former Dartmouth Police officer sentenced to prison after conviction of child rape in Fall River court

A former Dartmouth Police officer was sentenced this morning to prison after being convicted of raping his young step-daughter and molesting a teenaged family friend, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III announced.

Shawn Souza was convicted late yesterday afternoon by a jury of his peers  after a three-day jury trial in Fall River Superior Court of two counts of aggravated rape of a child, one count of rape of a child by force and one count of indecent assault and battery of a person 14 or older.

During the trial, evidence was presented that proved the defendant raped his stepdaughter on multiple occasions when she was between the ages of 6 and 8 from 2011 to 2013. The defendant was also convicted of molesting a 15-year-old girl in 2013. The second victim was a family friend and was at the defendant’s home with her family to watch a movie when the molestation occurred. Both victims testified and provided the court this morning with victim impact statements.

This was the second trial held in this matter. A mistrial was declared in 2022 when the jury in that trial could not come to agreement on a verdict.

The trial was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Silvia Rudman and Kalene Kobza. During a sentencing hearing this morning, prosecutors argued that the defendant should serve 20 to 25 years in state prison to be followed by seven years of supervised probation.  The defense argued for a more lenient 10 year prison term.  Judge Susan Sullivan eventually sentenced the defendant to serve 10 to 15 years in state prison to be followed by two years of supervised probation.

“The defendant took advantage of his position of trust and access to sexually abuse a six year old child over a two year period.  The victim had viewed him as a father figure and eloquently said in court that he was the only father she had, and he should’ve protected her.  It is a particularly aggravating factor that he was raping the victim while he was a police officer.  In addition, I also want to thank the second victim for coming forward and testifying,” District Attorney Quinn said.  “ I commend the victims and their families for persevering through this difficult ordeal, including a second trial. I admire the victim for telling the court today that she refused to be defined by what the defendant did to her. I would like to thank the prosecution team, specifically Assistant District Attorney Silvia Rudman, Chief of the Special Victims Unit, and Assistant District Attorney Kalene Kobza for their efforts in this case. A lengthy state prison sentence was warranted.”

Dartmouth Police Chief Brian P. Levesque was also in attendance at today’s sentencing hearing and made the following statement:

“The officer’s actions were a betrayal of the trust that the public holds in us.  We take an oath to protect our citizens, not harm them—especially the most vulnerable.  Clearly the officer’s actions do not represent the values of the Dartmouth Police Department.  We offer our thoughts and support to the victims and their families.”