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"Rape Cop" Cries During Testimony, Says He Doesn't Kiss And Tell
By
John Del Signore
Published May 11, 2011
Modified Sep 9, 2011
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By
John Del Signore
Published May 11, 2011
Modified Sep 9, 2011
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The NYPD officer accused of raping a drunken young woman in her East Village apartment broke down during testimony yesterday. While trying to explain why he told his accuser he used a condom if in fact he did not rape her, Kenneth Moreno explained, "She was threatening me. I took it as a threat. She was going to walk into my command and tell them something happened that didn't happen." When one of his lawyers asked him why he didn't report the accusation to a supervisor, Moreno started crying, CBS 2 reports, saying, "If I had done that, Internal Affairs would have opened a file. I would’ve risked my pension. And look where I’m at now! Look where I’m at now! Two and a half years later!"
Moreno, who insists he just spooned with the woman but didn't rape her, faced an aggressive cross-examination from Assistant District Attorney Coleen Balbert, who hammered him about every detail from that night, asking him when he first got the idea to return to the apartment and why. "It was to help her," Moreno testified. According to the Times, Balbert shouted back, "It was to help yourself and your partner so that you could go back there time and time again to take advantage of that drunk, helpless girl."
"I did not take advantage of her," Moreno replied. Balbert also asked if he opened up the bathroom window so the vomiting woman could get some fresh air, if he wanted to help so badly. He said he did not. Regarding his partner Franklin Mata's claim that Moreno didn't say anything about what went on in the woman's bedroom while he was asleep, Moreno said he didn't discuss it because, "I don't kiss and tell." But nothing happened, either? "You never once mentioned to him what happened in that bedroom?" Balbert asked. "I was embarrassed," Moreno said.
As for the damning audio recording of the woman's confrontation with Moreno outside the 9th Precinct, Moreno said, "I was just thinking about pleasing her, telling her what she wanted to hear. I was considering just telling her anything, whatever she wanted to hear just to make her happy." At the end of the tape, he also told the woman, "If you stop drinking, I'll be your boyfriend."
"It was the first time I got a good smile out of her," he claimed of the remark during testimony, the Post reports. But his accuser says she was so sickened by that thought she ended the confrontation and walked away. At one point during his testimony, Balbert yelled, "Are you just making stuff up as you go?" But Mata's lawyer thinks Moreno's testimony helped his case. "I think you get to see the character of the man," attorney Ed Mandery told CBS 2. "And it takes what’s been demonized in the media and you put a face to it. And I think you see the manner of the man and who the person is. I think it’s absolutely helpful."
The jury may start deliberating this week. Both officers face up to 25 years in prison if convicted.
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
franklin mata
kenneth moreno
nypd
rape cop
rape cop trial
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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