Cops Accused Of Raping East Village Woman Face More Charges
Fernando Mata (left), Kenneth Moreno (MyFoxNY)
Source
The trial of the two police officers accused of raping a drunk East Village woman has been delayed another week because the cops have been hit with new charges. Kenneth Moreno and Franklin Mata now face "11 [more] charges against the officers, including official misconduct and falsifying business records," for their alleged role in the 2008 incident—and there's new evidence, a video showing them entering the woman's apartment building a fourth time." The prosecution and a defense lawyer each claimed that the evidence would help them.
Back in December 2008, Moreno and Mata were dispatched by 911 after a taxi driver had called to say his fare vomited in his cab and didn't have any money. A surveillance video showed the cops helping her inside her East Village apartment and leaving at 1:10 a.m.—but then they returned almost an hour later, staying for about 20 minutes, and then at 3 a.m., the cops return again, staying for 34 minutes. For the third visit, which is when the rape allegedly occurred, Moreno and Mata allegedly called 911 and claimed a homeless man was in front of a building near the victim's apartment, knowing that they would be dispatched to the neighborhood.
The fourth visit, mentioned today by prosecutors, apparently shows "the cops returned yet again, shortly after 4 a.m., and stayed for an hour - allegedly after signing out for a meal break." Assistant DA Coleen Balbert said, "This new evidence in no way makes the people's case weaker - but rather stronger," while Joseph Tacopina, who is representing Moreno, was skeptical that it made the case stronger, "These two police officers came back to check on their so-called rape victim, an hour later? That would mean a guy who raped a woman would come back an hour later -- what? To see if she's OK?" The official misconduct charge is for allegedly not calling an ambulance for the intoxicated woman.
A tape of the victim confronting Moreno outside the precinct house is another piece of evidence. In the tape, Moreno says he did use a condom (the defense claims Moreno said that so the woman wouldn't cause a scene; Mata is not accused of having sex with the woman, but he faces rape charges because he was allegedly Moreno's lookout and acted "in concert").
Fernando Mata (left), Kenneth Moreno (MyFoxNY)
Source
The trial of the two police officers accused of raping a drunk East Village woman has been delayed another week because the cops have been hit with new charges. Kenneth Moreno and Franklin Mata now face "11 [more] charges against the officers, including official misconduct and falsifying business records," for their alleged role in the 2008 incident—and there's new evidence, a video showing them entering the woman's apartment building a fourth time." The prosecution and a defense lawyer each claimed that the evidence would help them.
Back in December 2008, Moreno and Mata were dispatched by 911 after a taxi driver had called to say his fare vomited in his cab and didn't have any money. A surveillance video showed the cops helping her inside her East Village apartment and leaving at 1:10 a.m.—but then they returned almost an hour later, staying for about 20 minutes, and then at 3 a.m., the cops return again, staying for 34 minutes. For the third visit, which is when the rape allegedly occurred, Moreno and Mata allegedly called 911 and claimed a homeless man was in front of a building near the victim's apartment, knowing that they would be dispatched to the neighborhood.
The fourth visit, mentioned today by prosecutors, apparently shows "the cops returned yet again, shortly after 4 a.m., and stayed for an hour - allegedly after signing out for a meal break." Assistant DA Coleen Balbert said, "This new evidence in no way makes the people's case weaker - but rather stronger," while Joseph Tacopina, who is representing Moreno, was skeptical that it made the case stronger, "These two police officers came back to check on their so-called rape victim, an hour later? That would mean a guy who raped a woman would come back an hour later -- what? To see if she's OK?" The official misconduct charge is for allegedly not calling an ambulance for the intoxicated woman.
A tape of the victim confronting Moreno outside the precinct house is another piece of evidence. In the tape, Moreno says he did use a condom (the defense claims Moreno said that so the woman wouldn't cause a scene; Mata is not accused of having sex with the woman, but he faces rape charges because he was allegedly Moreno's lookout and acted "in concert").
And I hope that woman doesn't get pregnant, because if she aborts it, then SHE'S the whore, amirite??!!?!?! *sighs*
And I swear to God if I see another "But not all men are like that! You women are being sexist!" thread pop up here I will fucking lose it.
Ugh. I love how people repeatedly decide this is a challenge. "THIS TIME I'll convince them that saying "I hate men" is just as bad as racism or sexism against women! THIS TIME."
And then explosion.
Apparently it is really, really hard for some people to not comment with their privilege and whiteknighting even when asked not to.
Or to threaten her, or to destroy evidence, or to make sure they wouldn't be facing additional charges in case she wasn't okay, or they panicked, etc. Rapists can be evil, calculating, and/or stupid too.
also I have not thought to follow this sort of thing before, but do defense lawyers in rape cases typically act so rage-worthy? (I imagine yes, but I feel like if someone actually has a case for innocence, you don't need to be a fuckwad to prove it.)
Edited at 2011-05-25 12:17 am (UTC)
i hate living in a world that is so fucking hostile to women that i fear being alone at night because shit like this happens all the time. the woman may not have had money, but she tried to do the right thing by taking a cab and tried to get home safely and the fucking police who are supposed to protect her fucking raped her. FUCK MEN. no really, fuck men.
It pisses me off that cops are always treated like they're wonderful people no matter what they're accused of when everyone knows men in position of power always use it to their advantage :/
and when i noticed that while i was reading your guys' posts, even in my internal monologue, i used the word -fortunate- in describing my husband's traits, that the "men suck" post really is valid. because i shouldn't have to be fortunate to have him. people like him should be the status quo, not misogynistic douchebags who think sex is for the taking and demeaning women and judging them based on their looks is acceptable.
so, this was basically a tl;dr way of saying that this is why i love ontd_p. just reading the comments on here in the span of 10 minutes can help me view an issue in a completely different light.
<3
1. A woman saying "I hate men" seriously affects no man's life whatsoever because they still dominate in this society no matter what women say. So it's not the same as someone saying "I hate Blacks" or "I hate women" [fucking God I hate when people say that]
2. It's not like the majority of men are standing up for me
Face. It needs to be kicked in.
Also is this something that can be weaved into the general raising of your child or is it a sort of separate topic that has to be approached in a certain way?
I'd also be interested in the opinion of mothers on how much they think their voice matters to their sons versus what the rest of society tells them.