Plea for former Virginia officer in sexual battery case HOPEWELL, Va. - A former Hopewell police officer convicted of sexual battery faces up to 60 years in prison. Mark D. Baggett of Colonial Heights entered Alford pleas to three counts of aggravated sexual battery on Wednesday in Hopewell Circuit Court. He faces up to 20 years in prison on each count when he's sentenced Sept. In an Alford plea, a defendant admits there's enough evidence for a conviction but doesn't admit guilt. One of Baggett's attorneys, Peter D. Eliades, told the Richmond Times-Dispatch that he would reserve comment until the sentencing hearing. Prosecutors say the 34-year-old Baggett used his position as a police officer to sexually abuse three women he was investigating. Baggett resigned from the police department in January after he was arrested.