LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - A former Nebraska police officer convicted of sexually assaulting a mentally ill woman has been sentenced to prison.

Lincoln television station KLKN reports that 56-year-old Gregory Cody was sentenced Thursday to 12 to 16 years in prison. In June, a Lancaster County jury found Cody guilty of first-degree sexual assault. Cody had faced up to 50 years in prison.

Prosecutors say Cody used his position of authority as a Lincoln officer to force the 30-year-old woman into sex dozens of times over 15 months.

She told investigators most of the assaults occurred while Cody was on uniformed duty. She says they began in 2016 after Cody didn’t take her into emergency protective custody following a mental health problem and that Cody told her she would “owe him.”

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Information from: KLKN-TV, http://www.klkntv.com

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