Cleveland police officer urinated on 12-year-old girl sitting on sidewalk after she refused to get in his car
EUCLID, OHIO: A former Cleveland police officer who had previously pleaded guilty to urinating on a 12-year-old girl after she refused to get in his car has been sentenced to 4.5 years in prison.
MEA WorldWide previously reported Solomon Nhiwatiwa, 34, had been off-duty when he set his sights on the victim while driving past Euclid Avenue in Euclid, a suburb of Cleveland on August 16 last year.
The young girl had been sitting on the sidewalk waiting for a bus when Nhiwatiwa approached her and asked her if she needed a ride. When she refused, he drove off, only to return a minute later and park his vehicle near her before exposing his genitals and urinating on her.
The 34-year-old filmed the entire incident on his phone and refused to stop despite the girl's protests. He later fled the scene and came to the attention of the Euclid Police Department after a resident of the area called to report a man that had been acting strangely and was peeking into cars.
When the victim's mother also called around the same time to file a complaint, detectives launched a hunt for Nhiwatiwa. He eventually turned himself in on August 20, and DNA evidence taken from the girl's clothes as well him being picked out by her in a police lineup confirmed he was the culprit.
It was revealed that he had been disciplined four times in his five years as a Cleveland police officer and that he had also been involved in a fatal shooting while working as a security guard in 2012 before he joined the force.
Last month, he agreed to plead guilty to charges of attempted kidnapping (with sexual motivation specification), pandering obscenity involving a minor, disseminating material harmful to juveniles, and endangering children.
As part of the plea agreement, Nhiwatiwa also agreed to resign from his position with Cleveland police, his license to be a police officer in the state of Ohio, his police commission and agreed to register as a sex offender once a year for the next 15 years.
This past week, Common Pleas Court Judge Wanda C. Jones sentenced him to 4.5 years behind bars after Nhiwatiwa seemingly didn't show much remorse for his actions. Asked if he wished to speak, he just said, "I would like to apologize to the victim" before going silent. When prodded by Jones further, he added, "I take responsibility for what I did."
Jones said she was not convinced he had been sincere, and that the physical and mental abuse he inflicted on the girl and his position as a police officer, which required him to protect the community from the very types of attacks he carried out, required consecutive sentences.