A former police officer convicted of raping and sexually victimizing women while on duty in a low-income Oklahoma City neighborhood was ordered Thursday to spend the rest of his life in prison. Jurors had recommended that Daniel Holtzclaw be sentenced to 263 years in prison for preying on women in 2013 and 2014. District Judge Timothy Henderson agreed, said Holtzclaw will serve the terms consecutively and denied his request for an appeal bond. Holtzclaw waived his right to remain in custody in the county jail for 10 days, instead opting to be taken directly to prison. Defense attorney Scott Adams said Holtzclaw will appeal. "It is what it is," Adams said. "It wasn't a surprise." Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater had strong words for Holtzclaw, who was convicted last month on 18 counts, including four first-degree rape counts as well as forcible oral sodomy, sexual battery, procuring lewd exhibition and second-degree rape. Holtzclaw was acquitted on 18 other counts. "I think people need to realize that this is not a law-enforcement officer that committed these crimes. This is a rapist who masqueraded as a law-enforcement officer," Prater said after the sentencing. "If he was a true law enforcement officer he would have upheld his duty to protect those citizens rather than victimize them." The Associated Press highlighted Holtzclaw's case in a yearlong examination of sexual misconduct by law officers, which found that about 1,000 officers in the U.S. lost their licenses for sex crimes or other sexual misconduct over a six-year period. Those figures are likely an undercount, because not every state has a process to ban problem officers from law enforcement. In states that do decertify officers, reporting requirements vary, but the AP's findings suggest that sexual misconduct is among the most prevalent complaints against law officers. During the month-long trial, 13 women testified against Holtzclaw, and several said he stopped them, checked them for outstanding warrants or drug paraphernalia, and then forced himself on them. All of the accusers were black. Holtzclaw is half-white, half-Japanese, and the son of a longtime Enid, Oklahoma, police officer. Holtzclaw's attorney had described the former college football star as a model officer whose attempts to help the drug addicts and prostitutes he came in contact with were distorted. Adams also attacked the credibility of some of the women, who had arrest records and histories of drug abuse, noting that many didn't come forward until police had already identified them as possible victims after launching their investigation. Holtzclaw's victims included a teenager and woman in her 50s. Three accusers delivered victim-impact statements Thursday, and at least one other was in the courtroom. Jannie Ligons, whose complaint in June 2014 launched the investigation of Holtzclaw, said she has been under stress because of the case and the fear of being sexually assaulted again. "My daughter and sisters are frightful when a police car pulls up behind them," Ligons said. The Associated Press does not identify victims of sex crimes without their consent, but she was among two women who spoke publicly about the case and agreed to be identified. Another woman, who was 17 at the time of the assault, said her "life has been upside down" since Holtzclaw raped her on the front porch of her mother's home. "It's been hard on my family. It's been hard on me," she told the court. "Every time I see the police, I don't even know what to do. I don't ever go outside, and when I do I'm terrified." Several of Holtzclaw's victims have filed civil lawsuits against Holtzclaw and the city in state and federal court.

A woman and three of her accomplices, were on Thursday, January 21 found guilty of killing her eight year-old step-daughter and sentenced to death by hanging.

Elenah Nyambura (pictured at Milimani law courts, Kenya with her accomplice) was charged with committing the offence at Civil Servants Estate in Kariobangi, with Peris Njeri, Geoffrey Njuguna and Kenneth Muriithi.

The court heard that Nyambura murdered Sheilah Wanjiku to win back her estranged husband Peter Kamau. The four had confessed to killing Wanjiku but later objected to the admissions, saying they had been coerced and threatened into signing statements prepared in advance.

 

While passing the sentence, Justice Fred Ochieng said the fact Wanjiku was stabbed in her neck and as the wounds were penetrative, there was no doubt the attacker intended to either kill or cause grievous harm.

"It did not matter who dealt the killer blow as each of them played a role which contributed to the success of the heinous act. Elenah Nyambura conceived the idea to eliminate Wanjiku. She enlisted the help of her own brother, Geoffrey Njuguna whose role was to identify and recruit the killers. Peris Njeri would point out the house to the killers," Ochieng said.

The judge said the retracted confessions were very detailed and could only be provided by persons involved, hence concluding the accused acted in concert.

"I find each and every one of the four accused persons guilty of the murder of Sheila Wanjiku. They are therefore, hereby convicted for the offence of murder," he said.

In her confession, Nyambura said she felt her husband loved Wanjiku more than he loved her son and thought if the girl was killed, Kamau would return to her. Nyambura was also unhappy because Kamau had married their former employee who was Wanjiku's mother - Eunice Nyawira - and decided to get rid of them both.

 

But according to Nyawira, there was nothing to suggest animosity between them as Nyambura's son would visit on weekends.

 

The court heard that on the fateful day, the accused persons visited Nyawira's house and stabbed the housegirl and the child, but the help lived to testify in the case. Wanjiku was stabbed ten times; six on the right side of her neck and four times on the left.

A postmortem revealed the stab wounds severed blood vessels in her neck. She died of severe bleeding. Investigating officer Sergeant Catherine Kinoti said Njeri coordinated the planning and execution of the child because Nyambura could not leave her place of work.

Kinoti testified that Nyambura made Sh80,000 available to Njeri, which she then paid to the persons who killed Wanjiku. During cross-examination, Kamau said after arrest, Nyambura confessed to him that she had been involved in the killing.

She allegedly blamed the devil for persuading her to pay people to kill Wanjiku.

Source: The Star Kenya