CSI investigator takes stand in trial of ex-HPD officer accused of raping woman

  Pooja LodhiaHOUSTON (KTRK) -- The prosecution is continuing to build its case against a former Houston police officer accused of raping a woman two years ago. On Thursday they showed surveillance video taken before the alleged assault.

Surveillance video shows former HPD Officer Abraham Joseph driving up to a gas station and releasing a man into the parking lot. Prosecutors allege Joseph picked up a woman and a man, then dropped off the man and raped the woman at a nearby park. A crime investigator on Thursday confirmed records showing that Joseph never told dispatch he picked up anybody. The witness says male police officers are always asked to call in when they're alone with women. He said, "Officers typically call a female officer to do a search... You want it to be known that there is a female in your backseat." The witness also confirmed the police uniform, handcuffs and gun that Joseph had on the day he's accused of raping the woman. "They want to remind the jury that he was in uniform at the time, not like he is today. Today he's in street clothes, he's in a suit, he looks like any guy that would take your daughter on a date," said KTRK legal analyst Joel Androphy. He says prosecutors want to remind jurors that Joseph was in a position of authority during the alleged assault. "This was a guy in uniform, wearing a badge, driving a police car and they really want to drive home that he used his authority to abuse her," Androphy said. When we asked defense attorney Nicole DeBorde if she thought her client is being held to a different standard because he's a police officer, she replied, "I have a lot of confidence in this jury. They're smart, they're taking notes, and they know that the law is that he should be held to the same standard under the law as is anybody else." The defense claims the sex was consensual. Prosecutors are still expected to call forward several witnesses. Attorneys say it could be a week or longer before this case is sent to a jury. (Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

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Trial of ex-HPD officer accused of rape resumes

  Pooja LodhiaHOUSTON (KTRK) -- A woman who claims she was sexually assaulted by a Houston police officer faced a lot of tough questions as his trial resumed on Tuesday.

The trial resumed after a two-and-half week recess. The alleged victim was on the stand all day.

Walking hand in hand with his wife, Abraham Joseph entered the courtroom as the trial against him resumed. The former Houston police officer is accused of handcuffing, then sexually assaulting, a woman several times while on duty last January.

The alleged victim told the court Tuesday, "He asked my name and put it in the computer. From there he pulled on my dress and started touching my legs."

She was cross-examined all day.

"We knew that this would happen, that there would be a lot of inconsistencies. We're counting on the jurors to pay careful attention and listen to what she is saying so they can decide for themselves whether they think this witness is being truthful," defense attorney Nicole Deborde said.

The woman admitted there were small inconsistencies in her story but told the court, "After what he did to me, my brain is not working right. I don't remember many things."

Still, she maintained she was doing her best to remember, saying "I know what I'm saying is the truth and I swear on my children that I'm telling the truth."

KTRK Legal Analyst Joel Androphy points out the alleged assault happened nearly two years ago and jurors will take that into account.

"The average juror is going to sit back and is going to say I may not have remembered that. So that's not effective cross-examination unless you can get to a point," Androphy said.

He believes Tuesday's lengthy cross-examination will make jurors want to see Joseph on the stand.

"If you're going to nitpick at every little thing that a witness does, you better have another witness or your defendant better come in there and explain why there are discrepancies," Androphy said.

"Do you expect the defendent to take the stand later on in the trial?" we asked Deborde.

"We'll have to wait and see," she replied.

Prosecutors are expected to call 10-15 more witnesses before it's the defense's turn to call witnesses to the stand. Attorneys say the trial could take at least another week.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

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Woman who claims ex-HPD officer raped her cross-examined in court

  Pooja LodhiaHOUSTON (KTRK) -- It's been another day of emotional testimony from the woman who says she was raped by a Houston police officer. The alleged victim says she was terrified and even tried to take her own life after the incident. Now she's facing intense questioning from the former officer's attorneys.

Former Houston police officer Abraham Joseph watched as his alleged victim testified. Tears ran down her cheeks as she spoke through a translator.

"It was horrible," she said. "I could never forget it."

She described in graphic detail how she says Joseph first handcuffed her then sexually assaulted her several times. On Thursday she was cross-examined.

Defense attorney Nicole Deborde told Eyewitness News, "Each of the little pieces of the story that she has spent time telling to this jury need to be dissected."

Deborde didn't start off by talking about the alleged rape. Instead, she asked the woman several questions about her immigration status. The alleged victim is a citizen of El Salvador and admits to having lied on her immigration papers.

The defense hopes those lies will lessen the alleged victim's credibility.

"So that the jury can decide for themselves what parts of those stories are true and what parts are not, and that she's in fact capable of saying something that is not true," Deborde said.

KTRK legal analyst Joel Androphy says the defense appears to be following a common pattern.

"You work your way up toward attacking her credibility," he said. "You start with fundamental issues that you can prove that are more objective, then you get to the issue of the situation."

Cross-examination of the victim is expected to continue Friday.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

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Ex-HPD cop on trial for rape

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A former Houston police officer is on trial, accused of sexually assaulting a woman while that officer was on duty. Jurors have spent much of the day listening to two different versions of what happened that night.

The first witnesses took the stand Tuesday in the rape trial of former HPD Officer Abraham Joseph after both sides presented opening arguments. The defense says the sex was consensual, but the prosecution says HPD had a rapist on the payroll.

From the very start, there have been two accounts of what happened on January 2, 2011.

Joseph told the judge, "No, ma'am, I'm not guilty."

Former Houston Police Officer Abraham Joseph denies the two charges of rape against him. His defense attorney told the jury on Tuesday morning that joseph had sex while on duty.

"Abraham Joseph was a police officer and while he should have been doing his job and out patrolling, Mr. Joseph was having sex with someone who was not his wife," said defense attorney Nicole Deborde. "At the end of this trial, you are going to be very disappointed with Mr. Joseph."

But the defense claims is that it was consensual sex. The prosecution, on the other hand, told the jury that Joseph was a rapist.

"You're going to hear that in January 2011, the Houston Police Department had a rapist on its payroll," said prosecutor Heyward Carter. "He had a badge, he had a gun, he had a marked patrol car and evil in his heart."

The victim told police Joseph had picked up her and a man in the parking lot of the cantina where she worked, and drove first to a gas station where he let the man out, then to a park, where she says he raped her.

The first witnesses on the stand were the victim's aunt, and then the aunt's husband, who say the victim came home crying, and saying she had been sexually assaulted. Prosecutor: "What did she say?"
Witness Israel Ramirez: "That a police officer had raped her."
Prosecutor: "And what did you think?"
Ramirez: "I never thought a police officer would do that."

The victim is expected to take the stand sometime Wednesday. If he's found guilty, Joseph faces anywhere from five years to life in prison.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

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Ex-HPD officer accused of theft takes plea deal

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A former Houston police officer pleaded guilty Tuesday morning to a charge of theft by a public servant.

Stefan Riha struck a deal with prosecutors so that he would change his plea in exchange for two years of probation, a $500 fine and 120 hours of community service. He also had to permanently surrender his peace officer's license.

Riha, 29, was arrested by undercover officers conducting a sting in May 2011 in the 3600 block of Fondren. Investigators say he made a traffic stop on an officer posing as a motorist, put that officer in the back of his patrol car while then pocketing $1,100 from inside the vehicle the undercover officer was driving. "As a police officer, he betrayed the trust that comes with the badge by taking money that belongs to citizens. It was important to us that he no longer have that opportunity," said prosecutor Maritza Antu. No one answered when we went to Riha's home Tuesday for comment. His attorney did not return calls. Prosecutors say they targeted Riha in the undercover operation after receiving two other complaints that he had stolen money from motorists. Investigators have never found enough evidence to pursue charges in those cases. Riha can never again work as a police officer and right now cannot posses a gun. He remains out of custody unless he violates probation. If he does, he can be sent to jail for up to two years. (Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
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