BOSTON — An Internal Revenue Service agent convicted of handcuffing and raping an office intern at gunpoint is going to prison for at least seven years.
James Clarke was taken into custody after the victim gave her impact statement Tuesday.
The victim in the case told the court this crime still haunts her.
Before Clarke learned he would serve seven to eight years in prison for the crime, he sat listening to the woman he raped at gunpoint after handcuffing her.
"I'm extremely thankful that I am alive and that my family is here for a rape case and not a homicide case," the unidentified victim said in court.
We are not identifying or showing the woman because the case involves a sex crime. Clarke was found guilty by a jury of raping the 21-year-old intern in July 2017 after taking her out for drinks at the Kinsale Irish Pub right across the street from the Boston IRS office. Clarke handcuffed the intern inside his government car at the Government Center garage. He then stuck his gun in her mouth -- with the victim not knowing if the gun was loaded -- and raped her.
[Trial underway for former IRS agent accused of raping intern]
Clarke raped the intern a second time before he dropped her off at South Station. The prosecution asked for a sentence of 14-18 years.
Clarke’s defense in the trial was that the encounter was consensual.
"He had too much to drink that night, just as she did," his attorney, Robert Sheketoff, said in court. "There is no excuse to what happened. I'm not offering one."
Prosecutors believe he will likely serve around five to six years in the end.
He will serve a probation for 10 years in the case.