Ex-Philadelphia police officer Tyrone Wiggins was found guilty Tuesday of sexually abusing a girl for six years. The abuse began when she was 12. That little girl is now a 25-year-old Philadelphia Police officer.
Wiggins, 51, claimed that the victim had a history of dealing drugs that he tried to get her to admit to when she was entering the force. He claimed her rape allegations were retaliation -- her way of getting back at him because he wanted her to come clean.
During his years on the force, Wiggins taught karate to thousands of kids, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. The victim was one of his students.
Prosecutors said Wiggins targeted the victim when she was 10 and spent two years ingratiating himself with her family. After he'd become like a "godfather" to the victim and her brother, the victim told jurors that Wiggins showed her a pornographic video then "exposed himself and had her perform a sex act on him" the paper reports. She testified that within a year, they were having sexual intercourse.
The guilty verdict was emotional for the victim, but not for the ex-officer, according to the Inky:
Wiggins, who retired from the department one day before his November 2009 arrest, showed no reaction to the verdict, nor did his wife.
However, the victim, now 25 and a Philadelphia police officer, began crying as soon as the first guilty sounded. By the end, her shoulders shook.
Wiggins faces up to 40 years in prison.
"I want to tell anyone who is a potential victim to come forward," the victim said after the trial. "There is hope, and there is someone who will believe you."
