(FORT WAYNE) -- A former northeast Indiana law enforcement officer has been sentenced after pleading guilty to raping a woman in Fort Wayne.
Conner Esmond, 29, of Bluffton, was sentenced Monday in Allen Superior Court.
Esmond pleaded guilty last month to the 2023 assault as part of a plea agreement calling for nine years total -- three years in prison and six years suspended. After serving his prison sentence, he must complete three years of probation.
Court records say the victim told investigators she met Esmond on the Bumble dating app and that he assaulted her at her Fort Wayne home despite her telling him no.
Investigators say Esmond later sent the woman a message stating he "should've 100% respected [her] wishes."
Esmond told a state police detective the encounter was consensual and claimed he asked for consent multiple times.
Before the case, Esmond had worked for several law enforcement agencies in northeast Indiana, including as a confinement officer in Allen County, a patrol officer in Bluffton, and most recently as a patrolman in Dunkirk.