Former Georgia police officer pleads guilty to 2019 rape

DECATUR, Ga. — A former police officer in suburban Atlanta pleaded guilty Friday to raping a woman during a 2019 traffic stop, with a judge sentencing him to 25 years in prison.

David Wilborn, 45, pleaded guilty to crimes including rape, aggravated assault and false imprisonment, DeKalb County prosecutors said.

Wilborn was on duty as an officer in Lithonia when officials said he kept a car from leaving a park, ordered a woman to get out and raped her at gunpoint while the car’s male driver lay face down in front of the vehicle.

After the rape, Wilborn told the woman to repeat the words “nothing happened” before allowing the man and woman to leave, prosecutors say.

The woman called police when she got home and investigators determined Wilborn had raped her. Lithonia fired Wilborn after the arrest.

Wilborn had a history of sexual assault allegations. He had resigned from the Atlanta Police Department after someone accused him of assault in 2007. No charges were filed.

At a pretrial hearing, a DeKalb County police sergeant testified that Wilborn had told a supervisor that he had sex with a woman at the same park but said it was consensual. Wilborn said “that he messed up and that his career is over,” the investigator testified.

Wilborn also pleaded guilty to sexual contact by a police officer, possessing a firearm while committing a felony and five counts of violating his oath of office.

DeKalb County Superior Court Senior Judge David Irwin sentenced Wilborn to a life sentence split between 25 years in prison without parole and the rest on probation. Wilborn also must register as a sex offender.