Download the AOL News Toolbar
Our new toolbar integrates latest news into your Web browser and installs in seconds. Download it now!
Send Us Feedback
News Video

Find, view and share videos about news and entertainment from around the Web.
See Videos »

News Alerts

The latest updates sent straight to your inbox.

Get AOL News Alerts »

NYPD Officers Charged With Rape

By COLLEEN LONG
,
AP
posted: 17 HOURS 15 MINUTES AGO
comments: 0
Text SizeAAA
NEW YORK (April 28) - A police officer called to help a drunken woman get home safely instead raped her as she lay semiconscious and facedown in her bed while his partner acted as a lookout, prosecutors alleged Tuesday.
Kenneth Moreno and Franklin Mata were suspended from duty and pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges of rape, burglary and official misconduct in the Dec. 6 incident in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan.
Skip over this content
The officers were held on $175,000 bail, which both later posted. Their attorneys disputed the woman's version of the events.
Moreno is "prepared to fight these charges every step of the way," said his attorney, Stephen Worth. Mata's attorney, Edward Mandery, said it wasn't a crime for his client to be seen at the location and believes the woman, who had vomited repeatedly, was so drunk she doesn't know what happened.
New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, who rarely speaks on pending cases involving officers because he may have to make internal decisions, called the allegations "disgraceful" and said he does not want the charges to tarnish the department's reputation for helping people.
"This is a shocking aberration in stark contrast to the outstanding work that the men and women of the New York City police department do every day on the streets of our city," Kelly said. "The public needs to know that the police are there to protect them. And I believe that they do."
Skip over this content
The two officers were working the late shift in the 9th Precinct that night as the woman, identified as a 27-year-old professional, was out drinking with friends at a bar in Brooklyn. Her blood alcohol level was at least double the legal limit for driving, investigators said, when her friends put her in a taxi and told the driver to take her to her apartment.
When the driver got there, she was so drunk she couldn't get out of the cab, so he called 911 for help, prosecutors said. Mata, 27, and Moreno, 41, responded within minutes. Surveillance tape shows them helping the woman into her building and leaving a few minutes later.
But the tape also shows the officers entering and leaving the building two more times, when they had been assigned to respond to other incidents in the precinct, prosecutors said. The officers were inside the building 17 minutes the first time they returned and 34 minutes the next time, prosecutors said.
While they were in the apartment, Moreno, who has been a police officer for 18 years, raped the woman as she lay physically helpless on her beige sheets, according to court documents. Mata acted as a lookout and "knew his partner was having sex with a semiconscious woman" but did nothing to stop it, said District Attorney Robert Morgenthau. But it's unclear exactly when the assault took place, officials said.
The woman reported the incident to prosecutors the next morning and was treated at a hospital. The officers were stripped of their guns and badges after the allegations were made public earlier this year.
Moreno's attorney said the investigation took months because prosecutors were unsure about the case.
"They had concerns, some questions about the accuracy of the complainant's version of what occurred," Worth said.
There was no DNA evidence recovered, but prosecutors said Moreno admitted he used a condom during the assault.
Both officers were indicted on first-degree rape charges, two counts of second-degree burglary for re-entering the apartment twice and nine counts of official misconduct.
Mata, who has been an officer for three years, also was indicted on charges of criminal facilitation and tampering with evidence for refusing to hand over his memo book used to record shift details and for not stopping the rape, prosecutors said. Some of his family appeared in the courtroom and left in tears, refusing to speak to reporters.
Mandery, Mata's attorney, said there was no way the woman could say his client was an accomplice.
"I don't think she could say that my client had done anything, even if you believe the allegations," Mata said.
During the investigation, a packet of heroin was found in Moreno's police locker, and he also was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, prosecutors said. Moreno has a wife and two children and is just two years from retiring with a NYPD pension.
The officers face up to 25 year in prison on the most serious charges of rape if convicted.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
2009-04-28 16:01:06
GOOD READ?
282 votes

Related Articles

  1. See More Related Articles and Blog Posts
(1380)
Sort by:

1 - 10

Westiesr2cool

02:44 AMApr 30 2009

These two raping scum are a disgrace not only to the honorable job of being a police officer, but to humanity as well. The ONLY good thing about this is KNOWING that in prison, they will be given the punishment they both deserve! I feel so very sorry for this woman. There is no telling how many times they have done this.....and their victims remained quiet or simply didn't remember. Just as we should all PRAISE police officers when they do a fine job and we should all support them in getting pay raises.....We also should let our disgusts and disappointment be known when the bad apples commit horrific crimes such as this one.

AVG RATING:
(0)

L6Jan

01:41 AMApr 30 2009

While they were in the apartment, Moreno, who has been a police officer for 18 years, raped the woman as she lay physically helpless on her beige sheets, according to court documents...During the investigation, a packet of heroin was found in Moreno's police locker" This speaks volumes unless this is a so called set up? What did he have heroin in his locker for? Some cops use drugs too!

AVG RATING:
(0)

L6Jan

01:31 AMApr 30 2009

Some cops lie, some rape, some put you in jail if they can't rape you, that is the truth, but there are some that do their jobs well and care about their neighborhoods and the people in their neighborhoods. We give the police the power, but after we do they seem to forget that. Then they realize that most of the time it is their word against ours and most of the time they know who wins. I am not going to say these cops did this or didn't do it, just like any one else they really deserve the benefit of the doubt and they deserve to be seen as innocent until they are found guilty in a court of law, and it doesn't matter what color they are either. The bad cops do give the good cops a bad name though, really! They are only humans, they can be and can become corrupted.

AVG RATING:
(0)

Ebonysharee05

12:53 AMApr 30 2009

If we can't trust the police then who can we trust?

AVG RATING:
(0)

Msj9ms1

11:29 PMApr 30 2009

One thing is true.... if you change the race... the bias is still the same. YOU people who have the White House -- YOU people who have the President -- YOU people with your insider privilege -- YOU people..............Well, ultimately YOU PEOPLE are about as nasty and horrid as anyone on this planet. YOU are just in a power position now and BY GOD are you abusing it as much as anyone ever did.Well done. Now watch your tired old racism bull be IGNORED by all, even when it is true. You are crying WOLF -- when the REAL wolf is at the door no-one will hear you.

AVG RATING:
(4)

Cherylsnc

10:43 PMApr 30 2009

THEY ARE TO SERVE, AND PROTECT NOT, FUC> AND INFECT~~~~~

AVG RATING:
(3)

Queenforce

10:39 PMApr 30 2009

I hope the wife of the rapist cuts his wang off and puts it in the blender where it belongs. raping a woman who he was there to help. Sicko. He must of thought oooh freebie, she's so drunk she won't know or remember. God only knows how many rapes he's committed or other crimes. I"m sure in his 20 yrs of service this isn't his first offense. Just his 1st time getting caught. He's done it for so long he was arrogant enough to think he could do it all the way to retirement and not get caught. GOOD, you sick a ss. I wonder also, how can cops afford such high bonds, especially the one that's only been in for 3 yrs. Things that make you go hmmmmm.

AVG RATING:
(3)

TicknerT2

10:38 PMApr 30 2009

FTP No wonder they are getting picked off. They put the badge on and are transformed into little Napoleons.

AVG RATING:
(1)

Spiritdreamer70

10:23 PMApr 30 2009

The cops are Cuban Illegel Immigrants....

AVG RATING:
(6)

sandyd3245

10:22 PMApr 30 2009

I have known some fine officers with the police department here, but these two are undoubtedly sicko's. I can't believe they were dumb enough to rape some woman and not expect her to talk. That is a terrible crime. If they are guilty, I sincerely hope they get the maximum penalty allowed by law. Now tell me how do we tell our children these are the people they should trust??? Sick, sick , sick!!!

AVG RATING:
(6)

1 - 10 of 1380

{ JOIN the CONVERSATION }

YOU'LL BE ASKED TO REGISTER OR LOGIN BEFORE POSTING A COMMENT.

News Makers

NewsmakersThis Mexican boy had the first confirmed case of swine flu. The 5-year-old says eating ice cream helped him get better.1 of 7

News Makers

Top Photos

Top News PhotosKevin Frayer, AP

A man and his son enjoy an army display Wednesday during Israeli Independence Day celebrations in Jerusalem. Click through to vote on your favorite photos.

All Good News, All The Time

GNN


* Want the latest Hot Seat polls delivered to your Vista desktop? Hot Seat Vista Gadget »

Sports

Money

Technology

Health

Entertainment

Bright Hall