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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Future teachers forced to diversify resumes

 HOUSTON (KTRK) -- The budget crunch has many soon-to-be college graduates rethinking their career plans. With hundreds of teachers being laid off, future teachers are caught in a flooded job market, so they're making changes.

Jobs in teaching have traditionally been plentiful. Normally, students graduating next month would be able to step into a classroom right away and even have options about what school they want to work in. This year is different; the jobs just aren't as plentiful. We wanted to see where the graduates are going and what the alternatives are available to a job market that's shrinking. This isn't what Demetra Gregg thought she'd be doing. A recent TSU graduate, she hoped to be in a classroom, teaching. Instead, she's working on her resume by earning a master's degree. "I'm scared that I won't be able to have a job -- not that I don't have the requirements but because there's just not any money," Gregg said. Gregg's situation is typical of what we found happening to local college graduates. Billions of dollars in state budget cuts to education have meant thousands of local teachers are being laid off. The jobs that used to be so plentiful for graduating teachers just don't exist. "The jobs may not be out there as they used to be, but the more certifications they have, the more training they have, the broader they are in what they offer," TSU education professor Dr. Danita Bailey-Perry said. Be open to out of state hiring, says dr. Perry, and open to teaching alternatives, such charter and private schools. Just down Wheeler Avenue at the UH campus, UH professors say even recent teacher graduates are vulnerable. "I have four in Katy ISD and Katy is really taking a hit financially and they're letting some teachers go and some of the schools have opted to let first- and second-year teachers go," said Dr. Susan Williams, associate professor at the UH College of Education. UH grads are being counseled to do more than drop off a resume. "We've talked to them also about being pragmatic; they might have to take a teacher's aide position for a year and get known at the school," said Melissa Pierson, director of teacher education at UH. That's what Amber Finley is doing. She's a student teacher in the Fort Bend school district. She graduates next month and hasn't been offered a job. Finley and her classmates are nervous, but not giving up. "That's kind of the attitude I'm trying to get toward. If I get something then I'm just happy to have a job because I'm going to be in a classroom teaching kids and that's what matters," Finley said. "I know that is kind of scary that we are losing teachers, but I'm very passionate about this, so if I have to keep looking I will," UH student Izabel Hlayhel said. TSU is planning a teaching summit to help place graduating teachers as well as previous graduates who've been laid off. Meanwhile, both UH and TSU are emphasizing diversity in their student's resumes and a willingness to work outside the public school system. (Copyright ©2011 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)

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