Waitress testifies against former HPD officer accused of raping her

Former Houston Police Dept. officer Abraham Joseph with his attroney Nicole DeBorde in court during his sexual assault trial Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012, at the Harris County Criminal Courthouse. He is accused of kidnapping a waitress from outside a restaurant, driving her to an unlighted area and raping her on the trunk of his police car. ( Melissa Phillip / Houston Chronicle ) less Former Houston Police Dept. officer Abraham Joseph with his attroney Nicole DeBorde in court during his sexual assault trial Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012, at the Harris County Criminal Courthouse. He is accused of ... more Photo: Melissa Phillip Photo: Melissa Phillip Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close Waitress testifies against former HPD officer accused of raping her 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

The trial of a former Houston Police Department officer accused of raping a cantina waitress while on duty resumed Tuesday with the defense questioning the woman's memory.

State District Judge Denise Collins delayed the trial two weeks when she was unable to come to court because of a personal matter.

The waitress, 37, has testified that Abraham Joseph, 28, detained her at 3 a.m. outside the cantina where she worked, put her in his patrol car, took her to a dark park and raped her while she was handcuffed. She alleges that Joseph assaulted her on the trunk of his police cruiser. He was relieved of duty the same day the attack was reported, HPD officials said.

The Houston Chronicle does not identify victims of sexual assaults.

The trial was postponed in the middle of defense attorney Nicole DeBorde's cross examination of the accuser, which began with questions about the woman's immigration status and her honesty about the incident. The woman lives in the U.S. legally.

On Tuesday, DeBorde focused on inconsistencies in the woman's story between interviews with police and testimony earlier in the trial, which the woman attributes to mental anguish related to the assault.

"You're telling the jury your memory was not very good on January 2 because you were upset, and today your memory is not very good because you're still upset?" DeBorde asked.

"But I know what I'm saying right now is the truth and I swear on my children that I'm not lying," the woman said, gasping and fighting back tears.

On Tuesday, DeBorde also focused on whether the beer the woman sometimes drank at work was actually non-alcoholic, when Joseph first touched her, and whether she was mentally fit to give a statement to police the night of the incident.

DeBorde said the woman took more than 20 pills after arriving at the hospital to collect a rape kit and receive treatment, including drugs to prevent HIV infection and to calm her down.

The woman said her story is true and her memory was not impaired.

"I felt as any woman would feel after being abused," she said.

Joseph is charged with two counts of aggravated sexual assault in the alleged January 2011 rape and faces a possible prison sentence of five years to life. His accuser also has filed a civil suit against him.

jayme.fraser@chron.com