A Saskatchewan police officer who sexually assaulted a female prisoner is going to prison. 

On Thursday, Queen's Bench Justice Duane Koch sentenced RCMP Const. Thierry Jacques to three years.

Thierry Jacques, shown leaving the Prince Albert courthouse last month, was sentenced Thursday to three years in prison.
(John Hughes/CBC)

"We think it sends a strong message that if a police officer engages in this kind of conduct while on duty with a prisoner they are facing serious and significant consequences," Crown prosecutor Inez Cardinal said.

Two years ago, Jacques, 32, coerced a woman into a sexual act while she was under arrest at the La Ronge RCMP detachment.

During the trial in Prince Albert last month, Jacques said the sexual encounter was consensual and it didn't happen at the police station.

The victim, a woman in her 20s whose name cannot be published, testified Jacques exposed himself, invited her to touch him and touched her breasts.

A crucial piece of evidence was a woman's shirt stained with semen — the DNA matched Jacques's.

The judge said last month he questioned the credibility of both the woman and Jacques, but said the physical evidence was compelling.

The Crown called for a three-year sentence, while the defence wanted less than two years, which could be served in a provincial correctional centre.

The crime occurred on Sept. 4, 2004, while the woman was under arrest at the RCMP detachment in La Ronge.

During the morning sentencing hearing, Jacques said the experience has been dreadful and he wants to get on with his life.

He didn't apologize to the woman. Later in the morning, he was taken away in a police van to begin serving his sentence.