Rape Charges Dropped in Trial of Police Officers Who Had Sex With Teenager in Custody
GRAVESEND – Timing seems to be everything. Yesterday charges of rape were dropped against two former NYPD officers, who had admitted to engaging in sexual activity with an 18-year-old woman they had detained back on September 15, 2017. Both “detectives quit the NYPD in November 2017, and said through their lawyers that the sex was consensual’, New York Daily News reports. So now they will only be charged with bribery and official misconduct for releasing her after receiving sex in return.
Councilman Mark Treyger called for legal action at the time to close a state Penal Code loophole – the code did not explicitly establish that there can be no capacity for consent between law enforcement and individuals they had detained or held in custody until last spring. He issued the following statement this morning:
“Sexual activity took place in a police vehicle between two police officers and a handcuffed teenager they had detained. There is DNA evidence of the sexual activity, and both the plaintiff and the defendants are in agreement that the sexual activity took place. This was rape. Any sexual activity that takes place between law enforcement officials and an individual in their custody is rape. This teenager was raped, and the defendants should be charged accordingly because she deserves justice. This sends a dangerous message to victims of rape and sexual assault, who already face an agonizing path when coming forward and disclosing their trauma. This teenager’s character and integrity have been under attack from the very beginning, none of which is relevant when DNA evidence exists and confessions have already been rendered.
“I am proud that we built an incredible coalition of advocates and elected officials and closed the antiquated New York State Penal Code loophole, legally eliminating the possibility of sexual consent between an officer and someone in their custody and aligning our laws with basic common sense and decency. If this law had been on the books in September 2017, when the incident in question occurred, this would be an open-and-shut case. The fact that it was not does not mean we should call this something other than what it was: rape. There must be justice here, and this is not it.”
The loophole was closed on March 30, 2018, however, does not apply in this case. More on old charges here, what transpired at court – here.
