Ex-Police Officer Pleads Guilty to Child Rape

A former police officer has avoided prison time after pleading guilty to child rape charges connected to assaults about two decades ago.

Timothy Monahan Sr. was sentenced Thursday in Worcester Superior Court to five years in jail, but the entire sentence was suspended for 10 years of probation.

Prosecutors say the 64-year-old Monahan assaulted the victim between September 1994 and March 1996, starting when the child was 12.

The Telegram & Gazette reports that Monahan worked as a reserve officer in Lancaster in 1978 and was later a member of the Leominster department.

Prosecutors say the now 31-year-old victim was in agreement with the sentence and just wanted Monahan to acknowledge guilt.

Monahan said in court he was drinking heavily at the time and had no memory of the assaults.