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NY Post: Cop Admits Partner Raped East Village Woman
By
Jen Chung
Published Mar 4, 2009
Modified Sep 9, 2011
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By
Jen Chung
Published Mar 4, 2009
Modified Sep 9, 2011
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The NY Post reports that a police officer has "admitted to investigators that his partner raped a drunken woman - and that he himself stood by after they escorted the defenseless victim into her East Village apartment." According to the Post's sources, Officer Franklin L. Mata, who has been with the NYPD for three years, has agreed to testify against his partner, 17-year veteran Officer Kenneth Moreno.
The two cops, who were stripped of their guns and badges and placed on modified duty, had been under investigation after a woman claimed she had been raped by a police officer on December 7 last year. A cab driver had called 911 for help, because his fare was an intoxicated woman who vomited in his cab and needed help getting to her home. A neighborhood bar's surveillance tapes show the police officers visiting the woman's apartment building repeatedly the night of the alleged attack—once with her and then two more times, the final time with a key.
Investigators believe the third visit, which lasted about 40 minutes, was when Moreno apparently raped the woman. According to the Post, the woman "awoke hours later, in pain and with signs of trauma" and she "contacted authorities and was treated at Beth Israel Hospital."
Mata reportedly initially claimed his Moreno had consensual sex with the woman, but the surveillance video and witness accounts suggested the woman was too drunk to consent. Sources tell the Post that it appears that cops used other calls they had that night to cover up the rape; investigators were suspicious when Mata couldn't produce his memo book, "which should have contained details of the cops' movements and interactions on the night of the alleged rape."
Another questionable discovery during the investigation was heroin found in Moreno's locker. Moreno reportedly claimed he forgot to report it, but apparently "the dope was found tightly wrapped in a package hidden in a cigarette box." A list of women's names and addresses were also found; the Daily News reported, "Investigators want to know if any of them were ever attacked."
Update (9/9/11): Gothamist has published a long-form feature about the Rape Cop case, written by one of the jurors. It takes you behind the scenes during their deliberations, and explains how they came to their controversial verdict. Buy it today as a PDF or on Kindle.
Tagged
east village
franklin mata
kenneth moreno
modified duty
nypd
rape
rape accusation
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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