By Donita Naylor
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A suspended
Woonsocket police officer found guilty in October of abusing his 9-year-old
half-sister in 2012 was sentenced Monday in Superior Court to serve six months
of a 10-year term.
Patrick Cahill, 25, was
convicted in October by Judge Daniel A. Procaccini of one count of
second-degree child abuse for using unnecessary force against his half-sister
on Aug. 20, 2012, while she and her sister were in his care.
Procaccini said that after
Cahill serves six months, he’ll be on probation for the remainder of the
10-year sentence. Cahill was ordered to have no contact with the victim, to
undergo anger management and mental health counseling and to turn over any
firearms, said Amy Kempe, spokeswoman for the Attorney General’s Office.
The start of the sentence was
stayed until Jan. 14, the court date for execution of the sentence or a hearing
on bail pending appeal, Kempe said.
Cahill has been suspended
without pay since his arrest on Aug. 21, 2012.
