HOUSTON (FOX 26) -
An ex-Houston Police officer got two life sentences for raping a cantina waitress.
Monday, the jury sentenced Abraham Joseph to the maximum. While Joseph appeared stunned to hear the news, his defense attorney was not.
"I'm not surprised considering the evidence that came forward during the punishment phase," Nicole Deborde said.
Deborde is referring to three other women who came forward and said Joseph had sexually assaulted them as they left their cantina jobs.
Joseph said he and the victim had consensual sex. He confessed to his wife he had sex with two women.
Prosecutors say he sexually assaulted five women they know about. They say he targeted illegal immigrants because they would be less likely to come forward. They also say there would have been more victims if that one woman had not come forward.
"Without her, who knows the extent of the damage that would be done. This city and the people in it don't know her and probably never will, but they owe her a debt of gratitude," Assistant District Attorney Heyward Carter said.
The victims who testified are applying for "U" visas which will allow them to stay in the country, get work visas, and apply for citizenship.
