Former Dartmouth police officer convicted of child rape

FALL RIVER (WBSM) – A former Dartmouth police officer was convicted Wednesday of child rape and indecent assault.

Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III announced that Shawn Souza was convicted by a jury following a three-day trial in Fall River Superior Court.

He was convicted of two counts of aggravated rape of a child, one count of forcible rape of a child and one count of indecent assault on a person aged 14 or over.

Souza was taken into custody and will be sentenced at 10 a.m. today.

He was arrested in April 2019 after raping one victim and indecently assaulting another. Both incidents occurred in Dartmouth and he was reportedly off duty when they occurred.

Souza, who had been a patrol officer with the Dartmouth Police Department since 2008, was placed on paid administrative leave following the charges.

He was found to be dangerous at a hearing three days after his arrest, but was released on $10,000 bail and on the condition that he stay away from victims, abide by a curfew and a court-ordered GPS -wears monitoring device.