Ex-Fish and Wildlife employee sentenced for raping co-worker

OLYMPIA – A former top staffer at Washington’s Department of Fish and Wildlife has been sentenced to more than 10 years in prison for raping a co-worker in 2014.

The SeattlePI reports Gregory Schirato was sentenced Wednesday to 125 months to life in prison by Thurston County Superior Court Judge Jim Dixon.

A jury found Schirato guilty earlier this year of rape and burglary.

Prosecutors allege the former agency division leader broke into the home of a co-worker after a work holiday party and raped her while she slept.

Investigators say they linked Schirato to the incident through DNA evidence.

Schirato worked at Fish and Wildlife for more than 30 years, and was the deputy assistant director of the agency at the time.

A law firm hired by Fish and Wildlife after Schirato’s arrest issued a 2015 report finding that the agency fostered a “highly sexualized” environment.