14-year sentence for ex-cop who molested teen rape victim

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A former New Orleans police officer has been sentenced to 14 years in federal prison for sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl who was already a rape victim. Federal prosecutors said Rodney Vicknair was a police officer in 2020 when he escorted a then-14-year-old rape victim to a hospital. Prosecutors said he offered to become the girl’s friend and mentor. But in September 2020, prosecutors said, he assaulted her in his truck. U.S. District Judge Lance Africk sentenced Vicknair on Tuesday to 14 years after recently rejecting a 7-year sentence. Vicknair pleaded guilty to a federal charge of “deprivation of rights under color of law.”