Oklahoma City, December 12 (RHC)-- A jury in the United States has found a former Oklahoma City police officer guilty of rape and sexual battery. Twenty-nine year old Daniel Holtzclaw was charged with sexually assaulting and raping 13 African-American women, according to court records.

Holtzclaw was found guilty of 18 of 36 charges, including four of the six rape charges. He is likely to be sentenced in January next year and could face life in prison.

Earlier this week, a large number of protesters gathered outside the court and called on the jury to convict the officer based on the physical evidence and the testimonies of the Black women, who described how they were raped by the police officer.

Prosecutors said Holtzclaw targeted women when he came across them while on patrol. He went after those women who had outstanding warrants, previous arrests or were in possession of drugs or drug paraphernalia. "He exercised authority on those society doesn't care about," Assistant District Attorney Gayland Gieger said in closing arguments.

Hundreds of U.S. police officers have lost their jobs over sexual offenses such as rape and possession of child pornography during the past few years, according a recent study. The report, carried out by the Associated Press, examined official data from 41 states to determine how many police officers were fired between 2009 and 2014 and for what reasons.

The AP said the findings together with other research and interviews with experts, suggest that sexual misconduct is one of the main forms of complaints against U.S. police departments.