Two Officers Accused of Raping an Intoxicated Woman

March 1, 2009 - Two NYPD officers, Kenneth Moreno and Franklin Mata, are accused of raping a drunken woman after escorting her home to her East Village apartment on Dec. 7.

New York Police Commissioner, Raymond W. Kelly said, “The reported charges, in this case, however, are an exception and a shocking aberration, standing in stark contrast to the outstanding performance every day by the men and women of the Police Department.”
   

                                                  Kenneth Moreno

                   Franklin Mata


Both officers escorted the woman home after responding to a cab driver who called 911 to say she had gotten sick in his car. The victim’s blood-alcohol level was between .20 percent and .33 percent, more than two times the legal driving limit.

"Moreno had sexual intercourse with the physically helpless victim as she lay face down on her bed, having previously vomited multiple times,” said Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau.


“My client will appear in court and enter a plea of not guilty. We look forward to a rigorous examination of the district attorney’s evidence,” said Stephen Worth, a lawyer for Officer Moreno.

Video footage, from a camera at a bar near the woman’s building, shows two uniformed officers helping her inside at 1:10 a.m. and then returning twice over the next two hours, according to the bar owner, Heather Millstone.
Ms. Millstone said that two friends of the victim came to her bar on to say that their friend had been attacked and was in a hospital. The victim told them, “I’ve been raped. It was the police,” according to Ms. Millstone.

The video indicates the officers left after seven minutes in the first visit, then returned 39 minutes later, following a resident who used a key to get inside. After staying for 17 minutes, they returned a third time, this time entering with a key, spending 34 minutes inside.

An assistant district attorney, Randolph Clarke Jr., said in court that no DNA evidence linked the officers to the victim or the crime scene. However, he stated, “Defendant Moreno admitted to using a condom during a recorded conversation with the victim.”

Morgenthau said that Officer Moreno, 41, a husband and father of two children and an officer for 17 years, assaulted the woman while his partner Mata assisted him, 27, an officer of three years. Authorities stated that officials were unable to find Mata’s memo book, a notebook used to log officer’s activities and movements.

“The public needs to know that the police will be there to protect them, and they can know that. For as dispiriting as this case is, the 36,000 officers who wear their uniform with pride will not be deterred, even at risk to their own lives, from coming to the public’s aid, by the few who disgrace it,” said Kelly.

Moreno and Mata pleaded not guilty last week to charges of rape, burglary and evidence tampering. They have been stripped of their badges and gun and suspended from regular duty. They face up to 25 years in prison if convicted.



Opposing links
nyc.gov/nypd
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policeabuse.com


Basketball Prospect Leaving High School to Play in Europe

April 25, 2009Seventeen-year old San Diego High School stand out, Jeremy Tyler, will be one of few basketball players to leave high school and play professionally. However, Tyler plans to play overseas.

Tyler said, “Nowadays people look to college for more off-the-court stuff versus being in the gym and getting better. It was boring and I wasn’t getting better. Each game was the same thing. It just wasn’t for me.” 

Tyler, who is six-foot-eleven, will become the first U.S. born player to leave high school early to play professionally overseas.

James Tyler, Jeremy’s father is excited about his son’s choice. He said, “He gets a chance to work the job of his dreams and have fun doing it. There are kids leaving to go to Iraq at age 18. They took a job to serve their country. He’s going to play ball.”



Tyler will join a generation of players like Kevin Garnett, Kobe Byrant, and LeBron James, who all went straight from high school to the National Basketball Association.

Sonny Vaccaro, a former sneaker company executive who made his name by signing Michael Jordan is optimistic about players like Tyler. He said, “We’re getting closer to the European reality of a professional at a young age. Basically, Jeremy Tyler is saying, ‘Why do I have to go to high school?”

Although Tyler is not signed to a team yet, his likely destination is somewhere in Spain.

Tyler is determined to improve while playing overseas. “If you’re really focused on getting better, you go play pro somewhere. Pro guys will get you way better than playing against college guys.”

Tyler will move with his family overseas where he will complete his high school diploma online. He is expected to return in two years at which time he is expected to be a top pick for the 2011 N.B.A. draft.

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