A FORMER police officer, accused of 36 sex offences including four first-degree rape counts, forcible oral sodomy, sexual battery, procuring lewd exhibition and second-degree rape, has been sentenced to life imprisonment.

While Daniel Holtzclaw was freed on 18 count charges, he was found guilty in 18 others and was sentenced to 263 years.

Holtzclaw, who was convicted of raping and sexually victimizing women while carrying out his assignment at the low-income Oklahoma arena, carried out the illegal acts between 2013 and 2014.

The jury that listened to both the arguments of the prosecuting team and the defence last Thursday unanimously agreed that the police officer committed the offence.

The jurors – after their deliberations at the end of the case – said Holtzclaw went beyond his boundary and should be behind bars for the next 263 years.

The District Judge, Timothy Henderson concurred with the jury’s recommendations – in the trial which 13 women gave pieces of evidence against Holtzclaw – and said that the offender would serve the jail terms concurrently.

Though the former police officer rejected his right to stay in custody for 10 days, as allowed by the law, but said he would go straight to the prison.

His defence counsel, Scott Adams, however, said that his client would appeal the judgement.

“It is what it is.  It wasn’t a surprise,” Adams said, while Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater lambasted Holtzclaw on his behaviour.

After the pronouncement of judgment, a visibly angry Prater said: “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.”

“If he was a true law enforcement officer he would have upheld his duty to protect those citizens rather than victimize them,” the District Attorney said.