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.

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Convicted Cleveland rapist Eric McGowen formally sentenced

Eric McGowen, 20, last month was found guilty of aggravated sexual assault of a child.

  HOUSTON -- A man who was a fugitive for nearly two weeks after fleeing his trial a day before being convicted in the repeated group sexual assault of an 11-year-old Southeast Texas girl was told by a judge Thursday that he would spend nearly the next century in prison

Eric McGowen was formally sentenced to 99 years in prison without parole during a hearing in the same courtroom from which he had fled. He will now be transferred to the Texas prison system.

The 20-year-old did not say anything during the brief court hearing, and mostly looked at the floor. When asked by state District Judge Mark Morefield if there was any legal reason why the sentence shouldn't be imposed, McGowen appeared to mumble something to his attorney, Matthew Poston. Poston said his client objected to the sentence because it was "cruel and unusual."

McGowen was one of 20 men and boys who authorities say repeatedly sexually assaulted the girl on at least five occasions from mid-September through early December of 2010. He was the first defendant to stand trial in the case.

McGowen was dressed Thursday in a red jumpsuit, was handcuffed and had a chain around his waist and legs. He appeared to have dyed his hair while on the run, changing the color from its previous dark hue to a reddish brown. He also appeared to be unshaven.

He did not say anything to reporters as he held up a piece of paper over his face while being led out of the courthouse by officers and loaded into a police car in the pouring rain. Poston and prosecutor Joe Warren declined to comment after the hearing.

On Aug. 29, McGowen was on trial, but never came back to court after a break in testimony. McGowen had been free on bail at the time. He fled the same day the girl tearfully testified about the attacks in her hometown of Cleveland, about 45 miles northeast of Houston.

The trial, held in the nearby county seat of Liberty, went on without him and a jury the next day convicted him of aggravated sexual assault of a child and then sentenced him in absentia.

Authorities tracked McGowen down to an apartment in northeast Houston and arrested him Tuesday. Six law enforcement agencies had coordinated the search for him. McGowen was apparently caught by surprise, as he was sitting on a toilet when authorities entered the apartment and arrested him, officials said.

The investigation regarding individuals who might have helped McGowen elude authorities continues, officials said.

Before his trial, all six juveniles and two of the 14 adults charged had pleaded guilty. Since McGowen's conviction, four other adults have pleaded guilty and are set to be sentenced Sept. 21.

His disappearance was the latest twist in a case that divided the small town of Cleveland, both because of the horrific allegations and suggestions from some residents that the girl was partly responsible because of her appearance. Police began investigating after one of the girl's classmates told a teacher he saw video of her being sexually assaulted in an abandoned trailer.

Prosecutors' case against McGowen included a videotaped confession and testimony from nearly a dozen witnesses, including the girl, who is now 13. Poston did not present any witnesses or evidence.

(Copyright ©2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

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Convicted Cleveland rapist Eric McGowen back in custody

Eric McGowen, 20, last month was found guilty of aggravated sexual assault of a child.

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A man convicted for his part in the alleged gang rape of a young Liberty County girl is back in police custody.

The Gulf Coast Task Force Tuesday arrested Eric McGowen at an apartment in the Greenspoint area. He has been turned over to the Texas Rangers and is being returned to Liberty County.

Law enforcement officials say they had information that McGowen may be staying with family and pulled over a family member during a traffic stop, at which point that person confessed that McGowen had been staying with them.

Investigators say they went to the apartment and surprised McGowen while he was sitting on the toilet in the bathroom. He was then taken into custody.

Liberty Co. officials will decide whether any of the family members in Greenspoint will face charges of harboring a fugitive.

McGowen was convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a child and sentenced to 99 years in prison back on August 30. However, he was already free on bail and was not in court when the verdict was read after skipping out during a break in the proceedings. A warrant for his arrest was then issued.

In all, 20 males -- 14 adults and six juveniles -- have been charged in the case. Prosecutors say the 11-year-old girl was sexually assaulted on at least five occasions from mid-September through early December of 2010. Police began investigating after one of the girl's classmates told a teacher he saw video of her being sexually assaulted in an abandoned trailer.

Testifying using a pseudonym, the victim last month told jurors about an encounter in October 2010 and one the following month in which she said McGowen and several other men and boys took turns sexually assaulting her while recording the encounters on video.

The girl briefly broke down in tears as jurors were shown a few minutes of video of the alleged sexual assault in October 2010.

She described another encounter that November that started in a different Cleveland home and continued at a nearby abandoned trailer. She told jurors that McGowen assaulted her with a beer bottle during that incident.

McGowen, 20, was the only one to go to trial so far. Twelve other defendants -- all six juveniles and six of the adults -- have accepted guilty pleas.

The case sparked outrage in Cleveland, and early on, some residents suggested the girl was partly responsible because they say she wore makeup, looked older than her age and wasn't properly supervised by her parents, drawing widespread condemnation.

The case also has been complicated by a belief among many in the predominantly black neighborhood where several of the suspects live that the arrests were racially motivated. All of the suspects are black, while the girl is Hispanic.

Stay with Eyewitness News and abc13.com for the latest details.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.

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