Former mbta officer gets up to 6 years in prison for on-duty rapes

Local News SHAWN MCCARTHY, 50, WAS CONVICTED BY A JURY LAST WEEK OF THREE COUNTS OF RAPE. A former MBTA police officer was sentenced Wednesday to four to six years in prison for raping two

women while he was on duty in 2012.  Shawn McCarthy, 50, was convicted on Friday by a jury on three counts of rape, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office.  “The strength

and testimony of these survivors allowed us to hold Mr. McCarthy accountable for his actions,” Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden said in a statement. “I am grateful for their courage

and their decision to come forward. This incident does not define them. In fact, as their statements make clear, sharing their stories has empowered them.” Advertisement: Prosectors said

that on July 6, 2012, the two women, who were in their early 20s at the time, were drinking in Boston when they encountered McCarthy outside the Aquarium MBTA station.  McCarthy offered them

a “joyride” in his police cruiser, driving them around the area with his blue lights flashing, officials said.  “After stopping in a vacant lot so the women could relieve themselves,

McCarthy said he hadn’t risked his job for nothing and he would not take them back downtown until he got something out of it,” the DA’s office said. “The women stated that they feared

getting in trouble and had no choice but to submit.” Advertisement: After raping the women, he drove them back to where they first encountered him and warned them not to tell anyone. 

Prosecutors said one of the women told a male relative soon after the assault and in 2019, she had to disclose it when answering required questions as a candidate for a law enforcement job.

“This officer abused his position, violated his department protocols, and, worst of all by far, subjected two young women to sexual assaults that went unacted upon for many years,” Hayden

said in a statement on Friday following the verdict. “But thanks to the victims ultimately coming forward, and the diligent work of investigators, justice in this case was sought and, with

today’s verdict, delivered.” The women both submitted victim impact statements to the court and attended Wednesday’s sentencing. “At that age, I should have been taken care of, not taken

advantage of,” one of the women wrote in her statement. “I looked up to police, and aspired to one day be an officer myself. For a long time, my faith in law enforcement was destroyed. I was

revulsed and silently condemned every man in uniform. I felt immeasurable shame and embarrassment. I felt like a bad person, and a bad friend. I felt dirty and questioned my own worth.”

Advertisement: She said she told almost no one about the rape, saying she did not want to “acknowledge that I was a victim in my own life,” putting all her feelings of “self hatred into a

box with no intentions of ever opening it.” She said she had so disassociated herself from the assault that it didn’t occur to her that she was reporting a crime when she disclosed the rape

during her job interview in 2019.  “I found myself at a crossroad,” she said. “I could keep my ‘dirty secret’ hidden or I could seek justice. I was now a police officer and I had taken a

similar Law Enforcement Oath as Mr. McCarthy. I could not fathom taking advantage of the authority I have been entrusted with. I decided to share my story because it would be a disservice to

society if I didn’t.” The other woman wrote that following the assault, “substance abuse, eating disorders, depression, anxiety, and nightmares” became her daily life.  “Coming here, being

honest and facing what happened freed me from the chains that have held me back for too many years,” she wrote. “The burden is gone. This isn’t my victim impact statement. This is my

survivor statement. I am no longer his victim.” Advertisement: She wrote that she forgives McCarthy.  “Judgment is not my place and I no longer have room in my heart for hatred or

resentment,” she wrote. “This is a new chapter in my life based off of love, peace, and healing.” DIALYNN DWYER Dialynn Dwyer is a reporter and editor at Boston.com, covering breaking and

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