Former Brownsdale chief gets 7.5 years for sexual assault

Published 5:59 pm Friday, February 6, 2015

Former Brownsdale Police Chief Jason Mindrup was sentenced on Friday to seven and a half years in prison for sexually assaulting a woman in 2013.

Jason Mindrup

Jason Mindrup

After Mindrup has served his sentence, he will face a conditional release for 10 years.

A jury convicted Mindrup of second- and third-degree criminal sexual assault in October.

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According to a court complaint, a woman accused Mindrup of sexually assaulting her in his truck after leaving a Waltham bar on Aug. 31, 2013.

Mindrup allegedly denied those accusations and told investigators the woman asked to go to his house, but he instead drove the woman back to the bar where she had left her phone and purse.

Mindrup’s defense attorney, Paul Spyhalski, tried to convince jurors during his closing argument Thursday morning that the victim’s inconsistent testimony and other conflicting details concerning the victim’s time in the bar should weigh heavily in their decision. Prosecutors pointed out DNA testing showed Mindrup’s saliva on the victim’s breasts and Mindrup’s own inconsistent testimony, combined with the victim’s shock after she reported the crime to police that night, should make it clear he was guilty.

The Brownsdale City Council voted unanimously to fire Mindrup in November 2013.