Former Oklahoma City Police Officer Sentenced To 263 Years For Sexual Assaults

A judge ruled Daniel Holtzclaw will have to serve a total of 263 years in prison for the 18 sex crimes he was convicted of by a jury in December.

He was convicted December 10 after a six-week trial of 18 sexual crimes – half of the counts presented by prosecutors.

Thirteen women took the stand in the trial, which began more than a month ago, telling jurors of sexual assaults that ranged from touching over their clothing to forced oral sex and rape.

District Judge Timothy Henderson agreed with an earlier court recommendation and sentenced Daniel Holtzclaw to 263 years in prison for the attacks on black women in a low-income neighborhood between 2013 and 2014.

Supporters and organizers crowded the courtroom, including members of the African American Policy Forum and the Black Women’s Blueprint.

One of Daniel Holtzclaw’s victims was an older grandmother; it was her report of the officer’s assault that led to the investigation which uncovered the man’s terrible abuse of authority. “If he was a true law enforcement officer, he would have upheld his duty to protect these citizens rather than victimize them”.

“A message for black women and black girls that you can come forward and state your case and get justice”, said Grace Franklin, another advocate with OKC Artists for Justice. “This is a rapist who masqueraded as a law-enforcement officer”, Oklahoma County District Attorney Scott Prate said Thursday, the New York Daily News reported. “And in my mind, all I could think was that he was going to shoot me, he was going to kill me”. Investigators pulled Holtzclaw’s history of running names through the Oklahoma City Police Department police system – to check people for outstanding warrants – and used the list to interview and eventually identify the rest of the 13 women.

Adams maintained during the trial that his client was a model officer whose interactions with drug addicts and prostitutes were distorted. “I just know how glad I am and how proud I am, especially for all the victims – how we were traumatized and all the things we had to go through”. “I am in his custody because whatever he tells me in my mind I just did it. As far as I know I could wind up dead in the hospital saying I was overdosed”, Hill said.

The case is infamous for Holtzclaw’s deliberate and calculating manner in which he chose his victims.