Plea Deal Set For Accused Rapist

Tulsa's suspected serial rapist is set to make a plea deal Friday afternoon. Records show the case against Gary Graham is no longer set for trial, but will be disposed of in front of a judge. Graham

Thursday, May 24th 2007, 5:50 pm

By: News On 6

Tulsa's suspected serial rapist is set to make a plea deal Friday afternoon. Records show the case against Gary Graham is no longer set for trial, but will be disposed of in front of a judge. Graham originally pleaded not guilty to the charges, and it looked like a jury would have to decide his guilty or innocence, but that is no longer the case.
News On 6 crime reporter Lori Fullbright has covered this case since the beginning, and even did an exclusive jail house interview with Graham. She reports in that interview Graham said he was not the serial rapist.

Gary Graham's arrest was the culmination of two years of searching. Police formed a task force just to find him. They culled through hundreds of tips and leads and tested dozens of people for a DNA match.

Graham decided to tell us his side of the story one week after his arrest in 2006. He denied being the rapist and said the DNA that tied him to the cases was fabricated by police, and the palm print police found on the window of one of the victims homes was there because he was at the house to rob it, not rape anyone. That palm print is what initially got Graham arrested. Police say after that the evidence against him was overwhelming. In some cases lab reports say there is a one in 99 billion chance that the DNA found on a victim came from someone other than Graham, in another instance it was one in 4.3 trillion.

Detectives say Graham assaulted a dozen people over a four-year period. The victims ranged in age from their 20s, down to 2-years-old; there was an 8-year-old and an 11-year-old as well.

Authorities say the serial rapistâ€™s M.O. was to, most often, enter through a window, assault the child then leave, sometimes being so bold as to leave through the front door. In many cases the child's parent was sleeping just down the hall or in the next room. Many of those parents and victims testified at a preliminary hearing, recounting their terrible fear and horror over the assaults. A judge ruled then the evidence was strong enough to hold Graham over for trial on 44 different counts.

Sources tell The News On 6 that Graham will plead no contest to 13 of the charges and the rest will be dismissed. He's to receive two life sentences that will run back-to-back, plus another 180 years that will all run concurrent.

The deal is supposed to happen Friday afternoon in Tulsa.

The advantage of a plea deal versus going to trial is it spares the victims from having to testify all over again. It also spares Graham's family from hearing the agonizing details of the crimes.

Watch the video: Serial Rape Suspect Heads Back To Court

Related stories:

2/23/2006 New Information About Tulsa's Serial Rape Suspect

5/30/2006 Preliminary Hearing For Gary Graham Will Continue Next Month

8/30/2006 Tulsa Serial Rape Suspect Gary Graham Returns To Court

9/13/2006 Court Hearing Held For Tulsa Serial Rape Suspect

10/2/2006 Tulsa Serial Rape Suspect Ordered To Trial On Additional Charges

10/25/2006 Tulsa Police Honor A Citizen Crime Fighter