A former Oklahoma City cop faces life in prison after being convicted of rape charges stemming from allegations made by 13 women he victimized while on duty.
After 45 hours of deliberation, the all-white jury found Holtzclaw — who is of Asian and Caucasion descent — guilty on 18 of the 36 charges against him. All of his victims were black.
As the judge read the guilty verdict, the disgraced officer broke down in tears, as did his devastated family members sitting in the courtroom. Holtzclaw faces up to 263 years combined in prison on all the guilty counts. The charges included four first-degree felony rape charges and two counts of forcible oral sodomy.
Protesters outside the Oklahoma courthouse sarcastically sang “Happy Birthday” to the predator, who turned 29 Thursday.
Holtzclaw, a former police lieutenant, targeted vulnerable women, including drug addicts, prosecutors said.
The victims said he preyed on them by asking about their outstanding warrants. Holtzclaw would then rape them after asking them to prove they weren’t carrying drugs — a pattern he carried out over and over again, the victims said.
His victims ranged in age from 17 to 58, and included a 57-year-old grandmother who said she was forced to perform oral sex on him. Twelve of the women said they didn’t report the attacks originally, afraid that no one would believe that an officer sexually assaulted them.
Holtzclaw’s litany of charges included first-degree rape, sexual battery, indecent exposure, stalking, forcible oral sodomy and burglary. He also faced second-degree rape by instrumentation and sexual battery charges.
He was fired after his arrest last August and did not testify during his trial.
Victim supporters sing happy birthday to #DanielHoltzclaw whose 29th birthday is today #HoltzclawTrial @kfor pic.twitter.com/SZC36qKQ2k
— Leslie Rangel (@Leslie_KFOR) December 11, 2015
Holtzclaw’s attorney questioned the credibility of the victims during cross-examination, bringing up their criminal records and warrants in attempts to poke holes in their stories.
Assistant District Attorney Gayland Gieger said Holtzclaw targeted vulnerable women who were unlikely to go to the cops.
“This officer violated an oath to protect this community,” she said in court.
“He exercised authority on those society doesn’t care about. Convince these ladies that someone does care about them.”
