Los Angeles: A former police office from the state of Oklahoma on Thursday was sentenced to 263 years prison for raping and sexually abusing African-American women while on duty.

Daniel Holtzclaw was found guilty in December of rape and oral sodomy in 18 of the 36 counts that he faced. On Thursday the judge in the case issued the sentence following the jury’s recommendation.

‘It is what it is,’ Holtzclaw’s attorney Scott Adams told reporters after the sentencing. ‘It wasn’t a surprise.’

Prosecutors said that Holtzclaw preyed on black women in poor areas of Oklahoma City.

The assaults took place between late 2013 and mid-2014.

As evidence mounted against him, Holtzclaw was fired from the police department in early 2015.

One of the victims, Demetria Campbell, filed a lawsuit against him in November 2013.