Former Police Officer Sentenced To 2 Years In Prison For Sexual Battery

Former police officer Matthew Mole -- who served on the Waite Hill, Willoughby Hills, Beachwood and Mentor-on-the-Lake Police Departments -- was sentenced to two years in prison Monday morning on a charge of sexual battery.

Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Nancy McDonnell also made Mole a Tier III Sexual Offender, meaning he will have to register where he lives and works with the local sheriff's office for the rest of his life.

Mole, who lives in Mentor, is accused of having an unlawful sexual relationship with a 14-year-old boy from Richmond Heights.

He was arrested and charged after the boy's mother found Mole in her house in the middle of the night, according to The Plain Dealer.

Mole and the boy met on a gay dating site and the boy claimed to be 18.

Additionally, a jury could not reach a verdict on a charge of unlawful sexual contact with a minor because they could not decide if Mole knew the boy was younger than 16.

However, McDonnell had sole right to decide if Mole was guilty of sexual battery -- after Mole waived his right to a jury trial on that count -- and she found him guilty.

The sexual battery conviction does not necessarily mean the relationship with the boy was not consensual. Instead, it means Mole used a position of authority -- in this case, his job as a police officer -- to have sexual relations with a person under his authority.