Former Oklahoma City Police Officer Convicted of Rape
After four days of deliberations, former Oklahoma City cop Daniel Holtzclaw was found guilty tonight of raping thirteen women he stopped while on patrol.
Holtzclaw was convicted on 18 of the 36 charges he was facing, including counts of rape, sexual battery, indecent exposure, and forced oral sodomy. 29-year-old Daniel Holtzclaw reportedly tracked down his victims and forced them into having sex, threatening to arrest them for outstanding warrants or if he found illegal items like drug paraphernalia on them. Holtzclaw's victims said they didn't initially come forward out of fear they wouldn't be believed. When one victim, identified as J.L. in court records, reported Holtzclaw after he stopped her in June of last year, the department began an investigation.
The case against Holtzclaw raised the topic of race as all of this victims were black. The jury that convicted Holtzclaw, eight men and four women, were all white. When the verdicts were read, Holtzclaw lowered his head and began to sob and rock back and forth. The suggested sentences from the jury for each of the 18 guilty verdicts total more than 260 years.
As the verdicts were read, supporters of the victims ironically sang 'Happy Birthday' to Holtzclaw outside the courthouse since it was his 29th birthday.
via NBC News