Holtzclaw’s previous employer, the Oklahoma City Police Department, made a statement, saying “We are satisfied with the jury’s decision and firmly believe justice was served”.
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The all-white Oklahoma County jury also acquitted Holtzclaw on 18 counts, but the officer sobbed as the 18 guilty verdicts were announced, at one point placing his face down on the courtroom table as if in disbelief. Among the other charges he was convicted of were forcible oral sodomy, sexual battery and second-degree rape. Holtzclaw was characterized in court records as “Asian or Pacific Islander”, the Oklahoman reported, while an all-white jury heard the case. He could spend the rest of his life in prison based on the jury’s recommendations, which include a 30-year sentence on each of the first-degree rape counts.
From there, Detective Kim Davis investigated, BuzzFeed reported. According to their accounts, Holtzclaw targeted the most vulnerable citizens in an area where he was employed to maintain peace.
Then, she said, Holtzclaw raped her, on the porch of her mother’s home. “Convince these ladies that someone does care about them”. “It’s so underreported, and people are scared that if they call and complain about a police officer, they think every other police officer is going to be then out to get them”. After suffering assault at the hands of law enforcement, they were frightened of what could happen if they spoke out.
“All I could think was, he was going to shoot me, he was going to kill me”, Logins said.
One question addressed at the press conference is how a police officer could prey on so many women without anyone noticing.
Jain Marsh is the Vice President of Victims Services for the Rape Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN). Alexander was sentenced to 20 years in jail for firing a warning shot as her husband threatened her, despite the fact that her husband’s own sworn testimony said he was “in a rage”.
This verdict is “remarkable”, she said.
Power imbalance is a common factor in sexual assault. Holtzclaw was not included in that count.
“Your offenses committed against women in our community constitute the greatest abuse of police authority I have witnessed in my 37 years as a member of this agency”, Oklahoma City Police Chief Bill Citty wrote in the termination letter, according to CNN affiliate KFOR.
Marsh explained that the positioning of a rapist above their victim is common. She was not from the mostly low-income neighborhood where he patrolled.
Benjamin Crump, a prominent civil rights attorney who is representing several of the victims, promised a series of forthcoming civil lawsuits against the city to shed light on the questions. The AP’s yearlong probe revealed about 1,000 officers had lost their licenses for sex crimes or other sexual misconduct over a six-year period. Balderrama explained that the OCPD conducts extensive background checks on police academy applicants. “Global Positioning System tracks officers’ whereabouts during their shifts and we are on the verge of implementing body cameras”.
Janie Liggins, a grandmother identified earlier in the case by just her initials, said Holtzclaw had fondled her and forced her to perform oral sex on him in her vehicle after he pulled her over in a traffic stop.
Thirteen women accusing him of sexual assault testified in the trial.
Five of the victims plan to sue the city, an attorney said. One of them, Grace Franklin, appeared beside the women on Friday morning. It is a courageous act to report a crime of sexual violence and it is not something that victims do lightly.
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Crump said the outcome was justice only on the criminal side of the case.
