August 2, 2007
Report: Grand Jury Indicts City Councilman for Rape
NY1 is reporting that City Councilman Dennis Gallagher has been indicted on rape charges by a Queens grand jury. Yesterday, the Queens City Councilman told the grand jury the sex was consensual.
The alleged rape took place on July 8. A 52-year-old woman claims that Gallagher took her back to his Middle Village office and sexually assaulted her. The 43-year-old Gallagher cooperated with the police, giving a DNA sample. He is married, but his neighbors say he and his wife fight frequently.
The Daily News reports that the accuser suffered "vaginal abrasions, abrasions on both knees" which Gallagher explained as being from an encounter on the carpet. He also said that the woman was upset because "he indicated the encounter was a one-night stand." But she tells the News, "I'm just out for justice. I have nothing to gain by lying. He's got everything to lose. He shouldn't get away with this just because he's a politician."
WNBC reports that Gallagher will turn himself in tomorrow morning. Gallagher's lawyer Stephen Mahler said his client, against his wishes, testified to prove his innocence: "I think he is a victim of a horrendously unfair grand jury presentation...Two-thirds of the questions he was asked before the grand jury were improper. He was severely prejudiced in the grand jury presentation. It was a grossly unfair presentation to the grand jury. He felt he was a public official and he felt he owed it to his constituents that he stand up and show he did not commit a crime."
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Christine Quinn is praying for Charles Barron to run his mouth, so she can avoid a real issue... like a councilman charged with RAPE.
I'd like to remind readers and the NYC City Council Ethics Committee that a Grand Jury indictment is simply an accusation.
In American, hopefully a citizen is still presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Um, [2], have you been following the coverage of the Vick, dog fighting case?
Apparently in America by Bush, you are guilty until proven innocent - unless you work for him in which case you are always innocent and cannot be prosecuted in a US court (executive privilege) and anyone who suggests otherwise is un-American and supporting terrorism.
He testified in front of the Grand Jury, a big risk, and still they indicted him.
I'd like to remind the readers of the Great City of NY, that indictment does not sound good for Gallagher.
Maybe Gallagher's lawyer should have prepared him a lot better for the grand jury presentation.
Or maybe Gallagher the politician is so arrogant he thought that it would be easy to talk his way out of an indictment. Looks like the grand jury wasn't as easily fooled as were his constituents.
Doesn't anyone remember the adage "a grand jury would indict a ham sandwich?"
Can't wait for the mudslinging at trial. A 52 year old has lots of history to be plumbed.