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Neighbor Testifies Seeing "Gunpoint Rape" Cop Attack Woman
By
Ben Yakas
Published Mar 22, 2012
Modified Oct 12, 2017
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Mar 22, 2012
Modified Oct 12, 2017
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The prosecution rested their case this week against Michael Pena, a 27-year-old police officer who is accused of raping a schoolteacher at gunpoint while off-duty in Manhattan last August. This came after testimony from the victim, a bartender who confirmed Pena was drinking heavily that evening, and a witness who saw Pena attacking the 25-year-old teacher. The witness described what she saw as "joyless" sex, and added, "It wasn't like 'let's sneak a quickie.'" Defense attorney Ephraim Savitt responded: "I'm sure it wasn't a quickie. I'm sure it was joyless, but she also didn't see exactly what happened."
According to bartender Meredith Polanco, Pena drank vodka while flirting with her at her Inwood bar: “He wanted to take me home. I said no, that I was going to take a taxi (and) that he was drinking,” Polanco testified through an interpreter. Prosecutors had a T-Mobile representative testify to try and show Pena trolling for casual encounters on Craigslist that night: "I supposed they are trying to show that he was all pumped up for sex," said Savitt.
Witness Ann Bishop, a special education teacher, testified that she witnessed Pena attacking the victim from her bedroom window. She called 911 twice, and jurors were played those calls: "Hi, there appears to be sex going on that is not consensual in the backyard of the house...It's rather disgusting," she told one dispatcher.
The teacher had gone to get a ride to work from her school’s principal, who had just hired her a week before, around 6 a.m. on August 19th. Pena, who had been partying at a strip club all night before, drunkenly approached her and asked directions to the subway. When she refused to accompany him there, he flashed his gun at her: “He pulled out the gun and said, ‘Shut the f--k up or I’ll shoot you’...He told me to close my eyes or he would f-----g shoot me,” she testified last week.
Savitt used an unusual strategy in his opening statements, admitting his client had committed "an unforgivable crime" and deserved to go to jail—and basing his whole case on the fact that actual penetration didn't happen. The arresting officer had previously testified about Pena's drunken state that morning: "I looked at his shield and I threw it to the ground in disgust."
Savitt is considering whether to let Pena testify this week; in addition, he's still hoping Pena's fiance will testify as well. Pena is charged with rape, committing a criminal sexual act and predatory sexual assault—he faces life in prison if convicted of all the charges.
Tagged
cop
drunk
gunpoint rape
inwood
manhattan
michael pena
nypd
off-duty
police
rape
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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