Jury deliberates punishment for ex-cop rapist

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A Harris County jury is deliberating the punishment for a former officer convicted of rape. The one person who may be able to spare Abraham Joseph from a life sentence took the stand on Friday.

The ex-Houston police officer convicted Thursday of sexually assaulting a cantina waitress couldn't stop the tears from flowing on Friday during the closing arguments of his punishment trial.

It was the same emotion Abraham Joseph, who displayed a gun during that rape, showed in court Friday while his wife was on the stand asking the jury for leniency in assessing punishment. She told the jury she met her husband through an arranged marriage.

"The first thing that attracted me was that he was very spiritual," she said.

Choking back tears, she also testified, "He admitted to me he had sex. He was very, very, very upset. He would pray to God. I have forgiven him."

"He is the backbone of my family," she added.

One after another, family and friends including leaders in Joseph's Catholic church also testified on his behalf -- a much different story from Thursday, when three other cantina waitresses described how they say Joseph raped them as well.

Now it is up to the jury to decide his punishment for what he did. The defense is asking for probation.

"When you go in that jury room and you get out your pen and you start to read the jury charge, what you have in your hands is the life of another human being," said defense attorney Nicole DeBorde. "That's a huge responsibility."

The state is asking for life in prison.

"What he is deep down inside and what he will always be is a serial rapist," prosecutor Heyward Carter told the jury. "Do not be afraid to look at him for what he is."

Joseph was convicted of two counts of aggravated sexual assault on Thursday. His punishment could range from five years to life in prison.

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

houston police department, local, samica knight

View the original article here

Photos and GPS info presented in ex-cop rape trial

  Pooja LodhiaHOUSTON (KTRK) -- Photos and GPS information were among the evidence shown on Friday to a Harris County jury that will decide whether a now former Houston police officer raped a woman while on duty.

Former Houston Police Officer Abraham Joseph is accused of sexually assaulting a woman at a park while he was on duty. On Friday a criminal investigator gave a timeline of where Officer Joseph went the night of January 2, 2011.

According to his car's GPS, the car left a Chevron gas station at 2:52am. At 2:55, the car arrived at Townwood Park and parked near a running track. The car was there for 10 minutes and and at 3:07, the car arrived at a Valero gas station.

The investigator noted that Joseph never told dispatch he had picked up anybody.

He said, "Since I've been on the department for 28 years, it's always been grilled into me, that you get a time check when you have a female in custody. It's to protect the officer against allegations of wrongdoing."

On Friday the jury also saw photos of bruises on the alleged victim's arm and hand. The pictures were taken after the alleged assault.

But it's what jurors haven't seen that's perhaps most dramatic. Prosecutors claim there are several additional women ready to take the stand and tell the jury Joseph raped them. The judge will rule on whether to allow jurors to hear their testimony.

"His uniform is the main criteria of whether the judge will allow that evidence in," said KTRK legal analyst Joel Androphy. "It has to fit the mold of the case. If it starts being too dissimilar, it's too prejudicial.

Androphy says this testimony may be the judge's most important decision of the trial.

"This is devastating testimony," he said. "If this comes in, he's toast."

The decision on whether to allow that testimony is expected on Monday.

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

houston police department, local

View the original article here