Lucius Kearney, a former Metropolitan Police Department officer from Washington D.C., received a prison sentence of 90 months for the sexual abuse of a 15-year-old girl, now brought to an end nearly two decades after the crimes began. The U.S. Department of Justice announced the sentencing following Kearney's conviction by a Superior Court jury on September 27, for first-degree sexual abuse of a child.

During the 2005-2006 academic year, the proof presented at trial showed that the victim, while Kearney was an active Fourth District officer, met him during a school project. Having exchanged phone numbers at the Fourth District Police Station, conversations that began as part of the project steered into sexual territory. In his truck parked near a D.C. public library, where the victim volunteered, Kearney engaged in sexual acts with her. 

Sentenced alongside the 90 months in prison, Judge Maribeth Raffinan decreed a subsequent 10 years of supervised release for Kearney. As part of his penalty, he is also mandated to register as a sex offender post-incarceration for 10 years. The story came to light in 2020 when the victim encountered Kearney once again, triggering the revelation of past abuses.

In response to Kearney's sentencing, U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves highlighted the efforts of the Metropolitan Police Department in investigating the case. Graves issued additional commendations to the U.S. Attorney’s Office personnel: Paralegal Specialists Garcia Clarke and Veronica Yale; Victim Advocate Veronica Vaughan; Supervisory IT Specialist Leif Hickling; Intern Emily Moran, former Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachel Bohlen, who initiated the case, along with Assistant United States Attorneys Peter Taylor and Richard Kelley, responsible for the prosecution of the weighty case.