Baltimore Cop Sentenced to House Arrest After Judge Ruled Rape Victim Wasn't Traumatized

Anthony Westerman, a former Baltimore County police officer, was sentenced to four years of home detention for the 2017 rape of a 22-year-old woman after the judge dismissed one count and determined there was no evidence of psychological injury to the victim.

The 27-year-old was convicted in August of two counts of second-degree rape, one count of a third-degree sexual offense, one count of fourth-degree sexual offense and one count of second-degree assault, Baltimore-based CBS affiliate WJZ-TV reported. The charges stem from two separate incidents in 2017 and 2019.

Baltimore County Circuit Judge Keith Truffer dismissed one of the rape convictions at Westerman's November 19 sentencing and declared that the remaining counts would be served concurrent. The judge also said that he would only convict Westerman on one count of second-degree rape.

Westerman was sentenced to 15 years in jail but Truffer suspended all but four years of house arrest. Before the judge issued the former police officer's sentence, he said there was no evidence of psychological injury to the rape victim, WJZ reported. Truffer previously said the incident "may be the most traumatic moment" of the victim's life and the woman implied she needed therapy after the assault.

According to the Baltimore County State's Attorney's Office, Westerman was also sentenced to one day in jail for the second-degree assault of a different woman at a bar in 2019 that Truffer described as "boorish." He was also ordered to serve probation after completing his sentence.

Truffer ruled on Friday that Westerman should be released on house arrest pending the appeal of his convictions.

"By the Judge taking away one of the counts and not finding that there was a psychological injury, it lowered the guidelines," Baltimore County State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger wrote in an email to WJZ, admitting that he expected a stricter sentence. "Nonetheless the guideline sentence should have been an imposed sentence of 5 to 10 years imprisonment."

Shellenberger also suggested that he did not agree with home detention as a sentence for sexual assault and expressed worry over the impact it could have on other survivors.

"I fear this could cause rape victims to hesitate to report their crimes if they do not feel like they will get justice," he said.

Westerman began working with the Baltimore County Police Department in 2013 but was suspended without pay when the department learned of the charges he faced in December 2019. A department spokesperson told local media on Monday that Westerman has been fired.

The former officer and a 22-year-old woman had been drinking at a bar in October 2017, according to court documents, when Westerman called an Uber to take them back to his house. The woman said that she passed out there and woke up to find that Westerman had forced himself on her.

The sexual assault survivor did not come forward until she learned that Westerman attacked another woman in a Baltimore County bar in 2019. Westerman led another woman to an isolated area of the business and began putting his hands on her waist and started kissing her without consent, WJZ reported.

Baltimore County Police Chief Melissa Hyatt released a statement in December 2019 calling the attacks "reprehensible."

Newsweek reached out to the Baltimore County Police Department and the State's Attorney's office for comment.

If you have been impacted by sexual assault, confidential help is available for free at the National Sexual Assault Hotline. Call 1-800-656-4673. The line is available 24 hours every day.