Holtzclaw, a 28-year-old former Oklahoma City police officer, is a sexual predator who prosecutors say used his badge to rape at least 13 women over a seven-month period.
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Former Oklahoma City police officer Daniel Holtzclaw, center, cries as he is led from the courtroom after the verdicts were read for the charges against him at the Oklahoma County Courthouse in Oklahoma City, Thurs…
His father – a police officer in Enid, about 100 miles northwest of Oklahoma City – his mother and sister were in the courtroom as the verdict was read.
Holtzclaw was charged with 36 counts of rape, sexual battery, indecent exposure and forcible oral sodomy after 13 Black women accused him of sexually assaulting them while they were in custody or inside his police auto.
Sex crimes detectives testified they identified and interviewed women Holtzclaw had searched or been in contact with during his 4 p.m.to 2 a.m. shift. “And as a result of that, actually coerced them into providing sexual favors to him”.
The Oklahoma City Police Department welcomed the verdict against its former employee.
Thirteen women testified in the five-week trial, describing sexual assaults that started with groping and progressed to forced oral sex and rape.
Prosecutors argued that Holtzclaw, who is Caucasian and Asian, targeted drug addicts as his victims.
The woman testified she was prostituting herself when Holtzclaw approached her in his police auto. “I’m a black female”.
Among those accusers, who are all black, was a woman who launched the police investigation into Holtzclaw. The sentences recommended by the jury along with each guilty verdict add up to more than 260 years. Another testified that she never told anyone because she had “never been on the right side of the law”. Most of the accusers, they noted, didn’t come forward until approached by police. “Lastly, we were disappointed to find out that numerous victims didn’t have proper representation or support to help them navigate the confusing and complicated legal proceedings”. Holtzclaw was sacked in January.
“We are satisfied with the jury’s decision and firmly believe justice was served”, it said.
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He called Holtzclaw a young, vigilant officer who cared about meeting people in the community and unfairly “turned out to be the villain”. The last was a teenager who was 17 when Holtzclaw attacked her. Holtzclaw was convicted of three charges related to her case: first-degree rape, second-degree rape and sexual battery.
