A disgraced Rochester cop who raped a 13-year-old girl was sentenced Wednesday to just 10 weekends in jail for his disturbing crime — a punishment activists decried as “the epitome of injustice.”
Shawn Jordan, 40, admitted in March to assaulting the teen in the summer of 2022, marking one of at least two alleged sexually predatory crimes he committed while serving on the Rochester Police Department force.
“This is an ultimate tragedy, because these parents trusted him,” Kelly Wolford, assistant district attorney of Ontario County, told ABC 3340.
“He’s a police officer, and if we can’t trust the police, then who can we trust? It’s a very difficult situation … Because this was a child who trusted somebody, and he was an adult who knew better.”
The sex pest previously pleaded guilty to second-degree rape and forcible touching in connection to an incident that occurred in his home in South Bristol, a community in Ontario County.
He was arrested a year later — six months after he was charged in a separate case for allegedly exposing himself to another teenager in an online video chat.
The sentence of 10 weekends in jail followed by 10 years of probation came as part of a plea agreement.
According to prosecutors, Jordan was desperately trying to avoid spending time in jail and facing the violence targeted at both child predators and police officers. The prosecution was hoping to keep the young victim from testifying about her trauma.
The victim’s family, however, desperately pleaded that Jordan be sent to prison — with her mother testifying in court that he had “ruined” her daughter’s life and “doesn’t deserve to be out on the street.”
Activists also voiced their criticism of the plea deal, which the judge approved after telling Jordan, “I hope you feel shame.”
“This sentence is the epitome of injustice and a dangerous nod to child sexual predators letting them know, ‘No worries, we won’t go too hard on you,’” Kathryn Robb, the national director of the Children’s Justice Campaign at the Enough Abuse organization, told The Guardian.
“This little girl will be imprisoned by her memories for life, while [the rapist] loses a mere 20 days of his liberty.”
Jordan — who will register as a sex offender — could still face prison time for his second sexual offense, which triggered his suspension and subsequent resignation from the Rochester Police Department.
A court date has not yet been scheduled for that case.
