ATLANTA — Editor's note: The video from this story is from a previous report.
A former Atlanta police officer has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for sexually assaulting a woman who had called 911 for a burglary in March 2021, according to the Fulton County District Attorney's Office.
In an update on Monday, the DA's Office said Judge Emily Richardson had sentenced Howard Portis to 2.5 decades in prison and probation for life as a sex offender plus five years concurrent for violation of oath. The sentence also mandates Portis not to have any contact with the victims or any witnesses in the case.
Earlier this month, Portis was found guilty and convicted on one count of aggravated sodomy and one count of violation of oath.
According to state records, Portis resigned in 2021 while under investigation. Portis also now has a second indictment in state court over a "pattern of deactivating his body camera before making sexual advances," the DA's Office previously said in a release.
Portis responded to the 911 call from a woman on Glenn Street on March 25, 2021, according to the DA's Office.
"Atlanta Police Department Officer Howard Portis arrived at the scene, and once inside her home, deactivated his body camera and physically forced her to perform sexual acts on him," the release said.
A second officer was dispatched to the scene, and when that officer arrived, the victim "remained silent about the assault due to her heightened fear and distrust of law enforcement."
The DA's Office said after the second officer left, Portis offered her $250 for sex. The woman ran to her pastor's house down the street and once she got there, "frantically knocked on the door, in tears and showing signs of distress, including heaving and vomiting, before disclosing to him that she had been 'violated,'" the release stated.
The pastor helped arrange for an ambulance to the hospital, where she stayed overnight.
“This office has indicted 31 law enforcement officers, including police, sheriff’s deputies and jailers, and federal agents,” District Attorney Fani T. Willis previously said. “Rest assured that in this jurisdiction, police officers who engage in criminal activity and violate their oath to serve the public will face the full force of accountability.”