Former officer who raped woman at park, forced her friend to lie down nearby sentenced to life

LITHONIA, Ga. — A former metro Atlanta police officer is headed to prison after he pleaded guilty to raping a woman while he was on duty.

Channel 2′s Tom Jones was the only reporter in the DeKalb County courtroom where David Wilborn went before a judge and learned his punishment.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

The former Lithonia officer apologized for his actions, but that wasn’t enough for the judge, who said Wilborn’s actions stained the badge that he once wore.

Wilborn apologized to the court, his family, the city of Lithonia and the woman he raped while on duty after he told her friend to lie on the ground nearby.

“I made a bad judgement that night, your honor,” Wilborn said.

Judge David Irwin called the case one of the worst rapes he’s ever seen.

TRENDING STORIES:

• Auto store employee shoots customer multiple times in the store, killing him, family members say
• 70 Georgia churches granted right to disaffiliate from United Methodist Church
• Man acquitted in Tara Grinstead’s murder facing six new charges in her death

“This is egregious in all shapes and forms,” Irwin said. “There’s nothing more vile than what you’ve been charged with.”

Prosecutors said Wilborn blocked a man and woman with his patrol car as they tried to leave a Lithonia park back in September of 2019. He told the man to get on the ground, then told the woman to get out of her car, where he raped her.

Afterwards, he put his flashlight to his face and made the woman repeat the words “nothing happened.”

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]

Wilborn initially claimed that the sex was consensual.

Wlborn accepted a plea deal where he received a life sentence where he must serve 25 years without parole. He pleased guilty to 11 counts, including rape, false imprisonment, aggravated assault and violation of oath.

Prosecutors said there are other potential victims.

Police investigating shooting at Clayton County auto parts store A Channel 2 Action News photographer was at the scene in Riverdale, where windows at an O’Reilly Auto Parts store were shattered.

©2022 Cox Media Group