CLEVELAND — Suspended Cleveland police officer Matthew Piter has been found not guilty of rape in a case involving two women in separate accusations from 2017 and 2019.
The judge, however, declared that Piter was guilty of the lesser charge of gross sexual imposition when announcing his verdict Monday in the bench trial.
Sentencing in the case has been set for Feb. 28 at 9:30 a.m.
The Cleveland Division of Police released the following statement after the Monday verdicts: "Cleveland Police Officer Matthew Piter was found guilty of 2 fourth degree felony counts of Gross Sexual Imposition in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court. Matthew Piter was suspended without pay pending the outcome of the judicial proceedings and will remain suspended without pay pending the administrative disciplinary process. Piter, 28, was hired in 2016. He was most recently assigned to the Second District."
Piter, who was arrested on Halloween 2019, was later indicted in early January 2020.
Back in late June, one of the women in the case talked with 3News.
"There's this huge stigma behind sexual assault and rape," Lauren Little said when asked why she's decided to make her identity public. "I want other women to know that they're not alone."
Little said the situation started when she met a man on the dating app Bumble in 2017 before the two went out for pizza.
"It makes you feel safe that you're meeting someone who's a police officer," she told 3News.
Piter’s other accuser, Ashley Spencer, also spoke with 3News last June.
“The evening began like a normal date would begin,” Spencer said recounting the alleged incident from October 2019.
She said the “unexplainable happened that no girl wants to go through.”
“When I would say 'no,' he just repeatedly still did what he wanted to do.”
Piter maintained his innocence and his attorney previously released a statement saying his client’s reputation “has been severely damaged.”
RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: One of two women accusing Cleveland police officer of rape speaks out for the first time