text: Image copyright AP 
   
   A police officer has been sentenced to life in prison for raping and sexually assaulting black women in the poor part of Oklahoma where he worked. 
   
   Daniel Holtzclaw, 29, stopped the women while out on patrol in Oklahoma City and forced himself on them. 
   
   Last month, he was convicted of assault on eight victims, including a grandmother and a 17-year-old. 
   
   On Thursday, a district judge sentenced him to 263 years, in line with what jurors recommended. 
   
   During the trial, Holtzclaw's lawyer insisted his client had been attempting to help the drug addicts and prostitutes he encountered in his work. Many of the women had arrest records or histories of drug abuse. 
   
   The court heard from several women who described abuse at the hands of the officer and the feeling that their lives were threatened. 
   
   All of his accusers were black. Holtzclaw is half-white and half-Japanese. 
   
   He cried when the verdicts were delivered last month. 
   
   Rallying support for 'imperfect' accusers ||||| Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings. 
   
   Jan. 21, 2016, 8:54 PM GMT / Updated Jan. 21, 2016, 8:54 PM GMT By Jacquellena Carrero 
   
   A former Oklahoma City police officer who was found guilty of raping more than a dozen women while on duty was sentenced to 263 years in prison on Thursday. 
   
   According to NBC's Oklahoma City station KFOR, a judge sentenced Daniel Holtzclaw, 29, to 263 years in prison. 
   
   In December, a jury convicted Holtzclaw of 18 counts of sexual battery, rape and other offenses. He was acquitted on 18 other counts. 
   
   According to Oklahoma state court records, Holtzclaw’s attorney Scott Adams filed a motion for a new trial — just one day before a judge would officially sentence him. The judge at today's sentencing hearing denied that motion. 
   
   Adams claimed that his client was denied a fair trial because "the government made deliberate discovery violations and misrepresentations, undermining confidence in the verdict," according to court documents obtained by NBC News. 
   
   In the filing, Adams alleged that a Facebook post by a police detective referenced evidence that was “withheld from the defense by the government.” 
   
   During Holtzclaw’s trial, thirteen women took the stand and testified that the former cop had coerced them into having sex after threatening to arrest them for possessing drug paraphernalia or on outstanding warrants. 
   
   All of Holtzclaw’s victims were black women that he stopped while on patrol. 
   
   In a statement released after Holtzclaw’s guilty verdict in December, the Oklahoma City Police Department said it was "pleased with the jury’s decision." 
   
   "It was a long and difficult trial and deliberation process for all involved. It is obvious the jury took their responsibilities very seriously and considered every piece of evidence presented to them," the statement read. ||||| (CNN) Daniel Holtzclaw, the ex-Oklahoma City officer convicted of rape and other charges after he preyed on African-American women over six months, was sentenced Thursday to 263 years in prison, as recommended by the jury, according to his attorney. 
   
   The sentence comes just over a month after a sobbing Holtzclaw was convicted on 18 of 36 counts, including four counts of first-degree rape and four counts of forced oral sodomy. 
   
   Prosecutors said Holtzclaw selected victims in one of Oklahoma City's poorest neighborhoods based on their criminal histories, assuming their drug or prostitution records would undermine any claims they might make against him. 
   
   Then, he would subject them to assaults that escalated from groping to oral sodomy and rape, according to the testimony of 13 victims. Holtzclaw, whose father is a police lieutenant on another force, waived his right to testify. 
   
   Two of those women shared their stories with CNN on Wednesday, recounting horrific memories of being forced to perform sexual acts by a serial rapist with a badge who was supposed to protect and serve. 
   
   Jury wants 263 years 
   
   Because the victims are black, race has been regularly invoked in the case. His trial began in November and was criticized by activists after an all-white jury was chosen. Protesters repeatedly gathered outside. 
   
   JUST WATCHED Former police officer convicted of sex crimes Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Former police officer convicted of sex crimes 06:10 
   
   Holtzclaw, whose father is white and mother is Japanese, is identified as "Asian or Pacific Islander" by court records 
   
   Attorney Benjamin Crump, who represented the families of Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown, has criticized the media, asking, "Where is the national outcry for their justice?" 
   
   Crump praised the sentence Thursday saying it was "a landmark victory." 
   
   "All the women were victims, from the 17-year old teenager to the 57-year old grandmother. This is a statement for 400 years of racism, oppression and sexual assault of black women; a statement of victory not only for the 'OKC 13,' but for so many unknown women," Crump said in a statement. 
   
   On Wednesday, Holtzclaw's lawyers asked for a new trial, alleging prosecutors did not disclose newly discovered evidence -- including DNA evidence and the accounts of accusers who falsely claimed to be victims -- to the defense, according to CNN affiliate KFOR . Court documents posted on the station's website say a detective referenced the evidence in a Facebook post. 
   
   The judge denied the motion for a new trial. 
   
   The defense team filed for an appeal in court on Thursday, and it was denied, Crump said. They plan to appeal again, he said, but he was not sure what arguments they will use. 
   
   Holtzclaw's attorneys aren't the only ones declaring his innocence, despite the verdict. His sister also runs a blog dedicated to telling her brother's "untold story." 
   
   Victims' stories 
   
   One of Holtzclaw's victims, Jannie Ligons, grandmother of 12, was among those who spoke at the sentencing on Thursday. 
   
   In an interview with CNN this week, she recalled driving down Lincoln Street when Holtzclaw pulled her over and told her she was swerving, "which was untrue," she said. He told her to get out of the car. 
   
   "He put a flashlight on my chest. He told me to pull my pants down to my knees. I did that but real quick and pulled them back up again. He pulled out his flashlight and shined it on my privates. I said. 'Sir, you not supposed to do this.' He said, 'Get back into my vehicle.' I did what he said. I began to get very, very scared," Ligons said. 
   
   She remembers him telling her, "Damn, you got a big ass." 
   
   "I thought he was going to kill me because I had seen his face and could tell on him and he was an officer and had to know he wasn't supposed to do this," she said. 
   
   That's when Holtzclaw ordered her to perform oral sex, she said. Her mind racing and tears gushing from her then-57-year-old eyes, she was both disgusted and terrified. 
   
   "I tried to perform oral sex," she said. "And trying to talk, I kept saying, 'Sir, please don't make me do this.' I said, 'Are you gonna shoot me?' He said, 'I promise I am not. ' I didn't believe him. I kept seeing his gun while he was making me do this right there on the street. I was sitting in the passenger side of the car and he was standing there. It was so horrifying. It was unreal. I cried and cried," Ligons said. 
   
   Finally, he let her go, and "I decided right then If he didn't kill me I was going to tell on him," she said. 
   
   Rape in a hospital bed 
   
   She picked up her daughter and went to the police station. Investigators interviewed her and sent her to the hospital. She soon learned she was the last in a string of sexual assaults and rapes committed by Holtzclaw. 
   
   "The detective I talked to in the hospital came in and she believed me. While she was writing the report she said, 'I got a good idea who it was,' " Ligons said. "I was relieved at first, but then I wondered why he was still on the street if they knew who it was." 
   
   Ligons told reporters after the verdict was announced last month that she had to enter therapy and later "had a stroke behind this." 
   
   Another victim, 24-year-old Shandegreon "Sade" Hill, told CNN she was intoxicated the night Holtzclaw arrested her. 
   
   He promised to get her prior charges dropped, but while she was handcuffed to the hospital bed trying to detox, he raped her, she said. 
   
   "He started to touch me. He touched my breast. From there, I just didn't know what to think. I am in his custody because whatever he tells me in my mind I just did it. As far as I know I could wind up dead in the hospital saying I was overdosed," Hill said. 
   
   "He violated me. And made me give him oral. He stuck his hands into my privates. He done everything against my will, " she told CNN, her voice shaking and angry. 
   
   Holtzclaw continued to pursue her, even following her to her home and stalking her on social media, she said. 
   
   JUST WATCHED Former Oklahoma City officer accused of raping 13 women Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Former Oklahoma City officer accused of raping 13 women 02:11 
   
   These are just two of the stories from the 13 victims, one of whom was 17 at the time and testified she was raped on her mother's front porch. 
   
   Grandmother brought him down 
   
   Ligons' report would be the one that finally yielded Holtzclaw's arrest. After she went to police and media outlets, investigators found another dozen victims. She now has a civil lawsuit pending against the former officer and the city, filed on behalf of several victims. Hill has filed a state civil lawsuit against Holtzclaw and Oklahoma City. 
   
   Crump has called Ligons "a true hero -- not just for black women but all women." 
   
   "The statistics on rape victims reporting the crimes against them are low to being with. This grandmother had the strength to come forward not just against her assailant but against a police officer. That is a frightening thing to do," he said. 
   
   Holtzclaw was a former linebacker on the Eastern Michigan University football team and graduated with a degree in criminal justice. 
   
   Prosecutors say his ruthless scheme began during a June 2014 traffic stop. He was fired from the force in January 2015 after an internal investigation.
target: – A former police officer accused of raping more than a dozen women while on patrol will spend the rest of his life behind bars after being sentenced to 263 years in prison on Thursday, NBC News reports. Daniel Holtzclaw, 29, was charged in 2014 and found guilty on 18 of 36 counts last month. According to CNN, Holtzclaw found his victims—ranging in age from 17 to 57—in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Oklahoma City and targeted them for their histories with drugs or prostitution, believing that would protect him from accusations. During the trial, 13 women—all black—testified that Holtzclaw threatened to arrest them if they didn't have sex with him, NBC reports. According to the BBC, they felt their lives were in danger. Holtzclaw's attorney had petitioned for a new trial on Wednesday, claiming his client didn't get a fair trial due to evidence being withheld from the defense, NBC reports. That request was denied by the judge when Holtzclaw was sentenced. During the trial, Holtzclaw's attorney claimed his client was trying to help the victims, according to the BBC.