Cop Justin Volpe who sexually assaulted man with a broomstick marries his childhood sweetheart in pr

May 2024 · 4 minute read

Cop who sexually assaulted man with a broomstick in New York police station marries his childhood sweetheart in prison

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A policeman who sexually assaulted an innocent man with a broomstick handle in the toilets of a New York police station has secretly married his 'childhood sweetheart' in prison - 13 years into his life sentence.

Justin Volpe married Caroline Rose DeMaso in a simple ceremony at Florida's Federal Correctional Complex on May 13 this year, according to reports.

But it will be a long wait before the couple can consummate the marriage as conjugal visits are banned in Federal prisons and Volpe is not due for parole until April 3 2025 at the earliest.

Volpe was jailed for 30 years in 1999 after he admitted dragging Haitian Abner Louima into the toilets of a Brooklyn police station and torturing him with the wooden implement following his arrest outside a nightclub.

Police officer Justin Volpe, 25, leaves state supreme court in the Brooklyn section of New York September 8, following his arraignment on charges in connection with the beating and sexual torture of a Haitian immigrant New York City and the police union have agreed to pay close to $9 million to settle a civil rights lawsuit brought by Abner Louima,

Just married: Justin Volpe, left, was jailed for 30 years in 1999 after he admitted dragging Haitian Abner Louima, right, into the toilets of a police station and torturing him with a broom

Volpe then emerged from the bathroom holding a pair of blood-soaked leather gloves before declaring: 'I broke a man down.'

But while the horrific and humiliating attack shocked America, sparking racial tensions across New York, Ms DeMaso could not let it cloud her love for the disgraced lawman.

According to the New York Daily News, an unnamed source said the couple, who are both originally from Staten Island, had been childhood sweethearts but followed different paths.

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She then married a Brooklyn police officer, now with the city's mounted police division, who she later divorced.

The couple were married in his Florida jail, registered by the federal Bureau of Prisons, on May 13 this year,  witnessed by Volpe’s mother, Grace, and a relative of the bride, the newspaper claimed.

And far from the usual attire of top hats and tails, Volpe was forced to say 'I do' wearing his khaki prison clothes - emblazoned with his inmate number 49477-053 - and standard-issue training shoes.

Simple ceremony: Volpe married 'sweetheart' Caroline Rose DeMaso at Florida's Federal Correctional Complex on May 13 this year. But he wasn't allowed to wear top and tails

Simple ceremony: Volpe married 'sweetheart' Caroline Rose DeMaso at Florida's Federal Correctional Complex on May 13 this year. But he wasn't allowed to wear top and tails and conjugal visits are not allowed

He was, however, allowed to wear his new gold band back to his cell when the ceremony was over.

'It’s happened, thanks be to God,' the Reverend Thomas Devery, who presided over the nuptials, told the Daily News. 'They’re very happy, and that’s it.'

Evidence: This photograph of Louima, introduced as evidence by the prosecution in Volpe's trial, was allegedly taken by police shortly after Louima was allegedly brutalized

Evidence: This photograph of Louima, introduced as evidence by the prosecution in Volpe's trial, was allegedly taken by police shortly after Louima was brutalized

Volpe was jailed for a minimum of 30 years for the attack that left Louima with multiple injuries for which he was hospitalised for two months. He later received an $8.7million payout by the city.

At first Volpe denied the assault, and even called on a colleague Charles Schwartz to testify on his behalf. Schwartz was convicted of perjury over the cover up and sentenced to serve five years.

Volpe later admitted during his trial that he targetted Louima in retaliation for a punch thrown at his head in a brawl outside a nightclub in Flatbush. It later emerged another man had thrown the punch.

Jailing him for 30 years Federal Judge Eugene Nickerson told the court: 'Short of intentional murder, one cannot imagine a more barbarous misuse of power than Volpe's.'

Volpe has since apologised for the assault which sparked a wave of racial tension in the city, again throwing the spotlight on the issue of racism within the force.

Volpe claimed the attack was not racially motivated, pointing to the fact that he was at the time in a three-year cohabitational relationship with a black woman.

Father of three Louima had moved to New York from Haiti seven years before the attack. He used some of the payout to pay for schooling for children in his homeland.

He would not comment on the marriage. His lawyer, though, told the Daily News: 'What’s important is for police officers throughout the country to be reminded of his 30-year prison sentence, which demonstrates police officers will be held criminally accountable for perpetrating criminal acts against innocent victims.'





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