IRS agent gets 7 to 8 years for raping intern at gunpoint after handcuffing her

A Suffolk Superior Court judge yesterday sentenced James Clarke, 46, to 7 to 8 years in state prison following his conviction for two counts of aggravated rape and one count each of rape, indecent assault and battery, strangulation, and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon for two sexaul assaults on the same woman on July 26, 2019, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports.

According to the DA's office:

[O]n the evening of July 26, 2017, the defendant invited a student intern at the Boston IRS office for after-work drinks and insisted on driving her to South Station to catch a train.

Inside the defendant's IRS-issued vehicle at the Government Center parking garage, he placed the victim in handcuffs, put his IRS-issued service weapon in her mouth, and raped her. After driving her to South Station, he sexually assaulted the victim again.

After exiting the vehicle, the victim called a friend to disclose the sexual assault. She then called 911. The pursuant investigation by the Boston Police Sexual Assault Unit and Suffolk prosecutors led to the discovery of the victim's DNA on the defendant's IRS-issued firearm.

In a victim statement to the court, the woman said:

I'll never truly know whether that gun he forced into my mouth was loaded but the thought that it might have been, the thought that at any moment had he accidentally hit the trigger while it was in my mouth, reminds me each day how thankful I am to be alive and to be here. He took advantage of what he didn't know then but should see now is an incredibly strong woman.

DA Rachael Rollins said in a statement:

Sexual assault is about power and control. This defendant used every tool available to him – his position as the victim's supervisor at the IRS, his status as a member of federal law enforcement, and the government-issued vehicle, firearm, and handcuffs that he had at his disposal – to exert his power, will, and control over and rape this victim. I am in awe of the strength and courage that she has shown at every step, and I'm grateful for her bravery and willingness to come forward and to hold her attacker accountable.