Daniel Holtzclaw Sentenced to 263 Years In Prison

DANIEL HOLTZCLAW SENTENCED TO 263 YEARS IN PRISON

An Oklahoma judge sentenced former Oklahoma City Police Department police officer Daniel Holtzclaw, 29, to 263 years in prison Thursday for sexually assaulting multiple women and ordered the terms be served consecutively. Holtzclaw, who played football as a linebacker at Eastern Michigan University, joined the OCPD after an unsuccessful attempt at getting drafted by the NFL.

Many of the former cop’s victims have spoken out about how their lives have changed since they were raped. One girl, now 18 years old, was assaulted by Holtzclaw on the front porch of her mother’s home. “Every time I see the police, I don’t even know what to do,” the girl told Oklahoma County District Judge Timothy Henderson at the former cop’s sentencing hearing. “I don’t ever go outside, and when I do I’m terrified.”

Another woman, a grandmother in her 50s named Janine Ligons who was raped by Holtzclaw in 2014, also explained how her life had changed.

“The stress of the case and fear of being sexually assaulted again has caused an increase in my blood pressure,” Ligons said. “I so desperately want my life back.”

Last December, jurors convicted Holtzclaw on 18 counts, including four first-degree rape counts as well as forcible oral sodomy, sexual battery, procuring lewd exhibition and second-degree rape. Since the terms of the sentence will be served consecutively, the total sentence is essentially for life. Holtzclaw’s lawyer, Scott Adams, says he intends to appeal.

Local District Attorney David Prater said Holtzclaw was not a law officer who committed crimes, but rather “a rapist who masqueraded as a law enforcement officer.”

An Associated Press examination from last year found that 1,000 police officers in the U.S. lost their licenses due to sex crimes or other forms of sexual misconduct over a six-year period.

Holtzclaw’s case drew significant attention from civil rights activists, primarily because all of the victims were black. The jury seemed to be all-white. Holtzclaw himself is half-white, half-Asian: his mother is Japanese, and his father is a longtime local police officer. Thirteen women in total have testified against Holtzclaw, and several said he stopped them, checked them for outstanding warrants or drug paraphernalia, and then assaulted them.

Judge Henderson rejected the defense’s request for a new trial or evidentiary hearing after hearing testimony from another officer.

Article by Pablo Mena