A former Virginia police officer and Marine Corps veteran has been sentenced to life in prison for sexually assaulting a child.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports former Richmond police officer 41-year-old Charles Church was sentenced Friday after being convicted last July of object sexual penetration of a child under 13 and indecent exposure. He was acquitted of sodomy and a second count of object sexual penetration.

Defense attorney William A. Efird III is considering an appeal, as the victim couldn't recall what underwear she wore during the attack, and the girl's mother couldn't identify the underwear as the child's. He says the key piece of evidence — a pair of Barbie underwear containing the victim and Church's DNA — cannot be connected to the child.