Ex-Police Officer Daniel Holtzclaw Found Guilty of Rape

His trial touched upon the explosive intersection of race, policing and justice in America. Holtzclaw, whose father is white and mother Japanese, was accused of assaulting or raping 13 women, all black, while he was on the job. At the center of the case was how all victims, ages 17 to 50s, had criminal histories of drug use or prostitution, according to The Oklahoman newspaper.

Prosecutors said Holtzclaw preyed upon the women in one of the state’s poorest neighborhoods and used his badge and uniform during traffic stops to force the victims to submit to an escalating level of crimes, from groping to rape. Holtzclaw was accused of manipulating the victims by promising to drop a drug charge against them if they didn’t report the purported assaults.

“I didn’t think anyone would believe me. I’m a black female,” one accuser testified in the trial, according to the newspaper. She alleged Holtzclaw touched her bare breasts and later went to her home to force her to expose her genitals and breasts.

But defense attorneys Scott Adams and Robert Gray painted a different picture of the accusers, saying the women were “street-smart like you can’t imagine” according to CNN affiliate KFOR.

The defense argued some of the alleged victims were high when the purported assaults took place. Holtzclaw, who turned 29 on Thursday, had his own campaign for justice, with a Facebook page posted by his family. Holtzclaw was a star middle linebacker on the Eastern Michigan University football team and graduated with a degree in criminal justice. His father is a lieutenant on the Enid Police Department, the family said. He is also the brother-in-law of a law enforcement officer, The Oklahoman reported.

In all, Holtzclaw faced 36 charges, including burglary, stalking, indecent exposure, sexual battery, forcible oral sodomy and rape.

The case began after one woman came forward and accused Holtzclaw of “sexual impropriety” during a traffic stop, Oklahoma City police Capt. Dexter Nelson told CNN last year.

It snowballed from there.

Holtzclaw was fired from the force after allegations surfaced in 2014, which led to an internal investigation.

In a termination letter obtained by KFOR, his former boss, Chief William City, wrote of the alleged offenses against women, “The greatest abuse of police authority I have witnessed in my 37 years as a member of this agency.”

CNN