Rajat Sharda sentencing

Former Worcester police officer Rajat Sharda reacts after he was sentenced to prison on a rape charge. His lawyer, Petter Ettenberg (right), said he client is innocent.

(Scott J. Croteau | MassLive.com)

WORCESTER -- Former Worcester police officer Rajat Sharda maintained he was innocent of rape Monday before he was sentenced to prison.

Sharda kept his head down, apparently fighting back emotions, as a judge ordered the 34-year-old to serve 5-to-7 years in prison after he was found guilty of rape.

A Worcester Superior Court jury found Sharda guilty last week of sexually assaulting a woman in August 2013 after he found the woman and a man having sex in vehicle. The woman testified that Sharda inappropriately touched her and masturbated in front of her while in full police uniform.

"I don't agree with the decision. I don't agree with the verdict," Ettenberg said. "My client is innocent."

The jury found Sharda guilty of rape, larceny under $250, witness intimidation and open and gross lewdness. Judge David Ricciardone sentenced Sharda to the prison sentence for the rape charge and 10 years of probation for the other charges.

"He had a badge. He had a gun," Assistant District Attorney Ryan Donahue said before the judge issued his ruling. "His actions are frankly disgusting."

Donahue argued for a higher sentence, stating that Sharda violated the public's trust and abused his power as an officer.

Defense attorney Peter Ettenberg argued to have any jail time imposed by the judge be suspended with probation. Ettenberg said he is filing an appeal in his client's case.

A father of a 1-year-old boy, Sharda is a religious man who serves meals to the homeless and is part of an extremely close-knit family, Ettenberg said. Sending Sharda to jail would be torture, the defense lawyer argued.

Rajat Sharda in Worcester Superior Court.

Sharda was the first Indian officer in the history of the Worcester Police Department. He was part of a police recruit class that was laid off due to the fiscal downfall, but eventually he was brought back in late-2011.

"That legacy is gone," Ettenberg said. "The history is gone."

As conditions of parole, Sharda will undergo treatments, register as a sex offender and must stay away from the victim in the case.