Former embassy official’s husband gets 2 1/2 years in sex case

WASHINGTON – A former U.S. Embassy official’s husband has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison after pleading guilty to sexually abusing a household staff member while they lived in State Department-owned housing in Morocco.

Sixty-five-year-old Labib Chammas of McLean, Virginia, also must register as a sex offender for 15 years and pay a $15,000 fine as part of his sentence, which the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia announced on Wednesday.

Chammas admitted as part of a plea agreement that he sexually abused the staff member from 2010 to 2013, while his wife, Judith Chammas, served as deputy chief of mission in Morocco. He pleaded guilty to a single count of abusive sexual conduct.

Chammas’ attorney didn’t immediately return a call seeking comment.