VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A Virginia Beach police officer has been sentenced to serve five years in prison for sexually abusing a child at his home during sleepovers.
41-year-old Anthony Paul was convicted on two counts of custodial indecent liberties, according to the commonwealth's attorney's office. He was sentenced to a total of 10 years in prison; however, five years of his sentence was suspended, so he will serve five years in prison. After his release, he will be on supervised probation for five years, and he will also be required to register as a sex offender.
Paul, who was with the department for about four years, faced charges that "resulted from his interaction with the victim several years ago," before his time with VBPD.
Paul was on administrative duty and remained employed — though his "police powers" were stripped — while the investigation unfolded, VBPD previously said. News 3 reached out to VBPD to confirm Paul's current employment status, we will update this article once we hear back.
Watch previous coverage: VBPD officer arrested, accused of sexually abusing minor during sleepovers
According to an arrest warrant, the charges stem from incidents that allegedly happened in March of 2019 through August of 2019.
The allegations came to light on April 11 when a man told a VBPD sergeant that when he was 16 years old, Paul touched him underneath his clothing more than one time during sleepovers, a criminal complaint says. He said this happened while he was at Paul’s Virginia Beach home under his supervision.
The complaint goes on to say that on April 16, the sergeant interviewed Paul, who denied the allegations. However, he said a sexual act between him and the minor happened at his home, but he did not go into detail. He was arrested days later after turning himself in, court documents say.
During a previous bond hearing, the commonwealth's attorney said the accusations involve two brothers who were underage at the time and that Paul was their martial arts instructor and had groomed them.
Click here to see how we use AI at WTKR News 3.
