CONCORD, N.H. (AP) – A former corrections officer was sentenced Wednesday to at least 20 years in prison for raping a female inmate under his supervision at a prison halfway house.

Douglas Tower, 62, was convicted in February.

Tower will remain held at the Merrimack County House of Corrections pending any potential further litigation associated with his criminal charges, said William Wrenn, commissioner of the Department of Corrections.

“We are entrusted with the custody and safekeeping of all offenders who are incarcerated in our facilities. We take that responsibility seriously. The employees of the Department of Corrections must uphold the laws of the state and we will continue to have a zero-tolerance approach to those who violate that trust,” Wrenn said in a statement.

At his trial, the inmate testified that the former corrections sergeant assaulted her in his office at the Shea Farm halfway house two years ago and in a Corrections Department van. She said she felt she had no choice but to submit.

Tower testified that he kissed and fondled the woman in the van after she made advances to him, but did not rape her.

Tower was the highest-ranking officer assigned full-time to Shea Farm, where he worked at night and once was voted officer of the year. He ruled on low-level disciplinary reports, bedroom assignments and inmate visit requests, and had authority over other officers.

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