Cops "Raped Me, Left Me In A Pool Of Vomit In My Bed To Die"

After hearing tearful testimony yesterday from a young woman accusing an NYPD officer of raping her while his partner acted as a lookout, jurors heard an audio recording she secretly made ten days after the alleged attack. You can read the transcript in full below; the unidentified victim is identified here as "Controlled Witness" or C.W. She confronted Officer Kenneth Moreno outside the 9th Precinct station house, and though he denies raping her when she was passed out drunk in her apartment, he also "reassures" her that he used a condom. And in another confusing contradiction, Moreno explains, "It was my daughter's birthday that day. I was in a very helpful mood."

Moreno contradicts himself repeatedly during the conversation, assuring her she doesn't have to worry about getting an STD, but also saying, "You're asking me to admit to something that never happened." The woman will be cross-examined by defense attorneys today; they're expected to argue that she wasn't so drunk she couldn't say no, and that Moreno and his partner, Franklin Mata, returned to her apartment four times that night "to check on her." But it could be tough sledding getting the jury to buy this, especially since their client was caught on tape telling the woman, "It turned from us trying to help you, to getting really crazy ok? Alright?"

Rape Cop Transcript

The accuser broke down while graphically describing the December 7, 2008 incident; she admitted to blacking out at various points in the evening, but described when she woke up at one point, one man "was talking to me. He said something to the effect of, ‘Do you want me to stay?’" According to the NY Times, "She did not respond, she said, and the man kissed her on her shoulder. She passed out again, she said. She woke up in her dark bedroom to the sound of two men speaking at the foot of her bed, she said." Later, after she woke up for good, she felt that she had been raped and scrubbed herself in the shower, “just tried to basically take my skin off." The 29-year-old also testified, "I couldn't believe two police officers that had been called to help me had instead raped me and left me in a pool of vomit in my bed to die."

Moreno's lawyer claims that his client only—and falsely— admitted to using a condom so the accuser wouldn't make a scene. But the accuser said, "This is going to sound kind of weird, but when he said it, he kind of relaxed and, actually, so did I, because he finally admitted what he did to me."

Update (9/9/11): Gothamist has published a long-form feature about the Rape Cop case, written by one of the jurors. It takes you behind the scenes during their deliberations, and explains how they came to their controversial verdict. Buy it today as a PDF or on Kindle.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By John Del Signore in News on April 15, 2011 12:52 PM

Comments [rss]

SuzyQ

you dont wake up from a blackout. blackouts are the inability to later recall any memories from the intoxicated period. so when she says she woke up at some point to hear one of them talking to her, i can only assume she is lying or she is confusing blacking out with passing out. also, as an alcoholic who frequently blackouts and passes out, i can tell you, once passed out, youre out. i dont buy the in and out of consciousness only to awaken later bit. if she did blackout like she claims, how does she know she didnt give consent, she clearly wouldnt remember if she did since she was in a blackout. at worst he could be guilty of taking advantage of her, but that is not rape. i dont believe her. too many holes in her story.

opensourceopen

Rape is one of the most demeaning and cruel things that can happen to someone. Imagine if this woman was your mother, sister or even yourself...and taken advantage of by police officers, horrible

Winston Smith

wow, one would have to be a seriously honey subhuman piece of crap to do something like this. To be a sworn Officer of the Law and do it just shows you the reality of the world; people are only as good as the decisions they make.

OvaltineJenkins

How was she dressed? That means a lot.

daveydavedavid

was this comment written before the woman's suffrage movement?...you probably don't know what that is do you?...

Selena Hunt

Are you kidding me? Are you really that stupid??? Who the hell cares how she was dressed, that makes no difference at all. So I guess the next time you park your car on a public street you'll deserve to have it stolen right? I mean, if you're flaunting it you're clearly inviting someone else to take it. It will be all your fault. Idiot.

Eliz

you just got trolled by a troll, ignore it.

Eliz

you just got trolled by a troll, ignore it.

BottomlessChips

My gut says this guy did it. (The look out is culpable, too, of course). But no physical evidence? He said, she said are rough. Kudos to the jury--such a tough, traumatic case.

JackBrat

OK- So let me get this straight. It's OK for a copy to rape a drunken women, as long as she is not so drunk that she couldn't utter the magic 'stop' word: NO!

So a NYPD cop can rape a woman- as long as she doesn't 'opt-out'. . . so does that also mean he can now send her solicitous eMails too- because she didn't 'opt-out' ?!?!?

Send these guys right to the slammer for at least 20-years!

fleur_de_lis

ktinnyc: you're so right. no matter what their 'excuses' are, they are SO guilty.

it is 100% obvious that they had sex. she claimed she was raped and he claims that it was consensual. If I was the judge, that would be all I needed to know.

If the cops were called to help her because of her extremely inebriated condition, she was obviously VERY drunk. That, and her lack of memory show that she was WAY too drunk to have consenual sex. And even if it was consensual, the officers were called to help her because she was so drunk. there is no way to get around the fact that instead of helping her, they took advantage of her.

case closed, they're guilty.

how is this even questionable?! they are guilty, period.

ktinnyc

I know the cops visited her apartment 3 times after the call. I know the cops falsified their logs. I know Moreno admitted to using a condom. I know Moreno had heroin in his locker. I know the victim had cervical bruising consistent with rough sex. I know enough to believe the cops did something wrong and the wrong in this case I believe is Moreno raping the woman.

Guest

I asked a question because I honestly don't know if there are forensics. I don't know what happened, do you?

Guest

Waitwaitwait - she felt she was raped? Any forensic evidence beyond feelings?

daveydavedavid

yeah , a fresh bruise to the cervix "consistent with rape from the position she described" -court medical testimony...what do we need forensic evidence for?...HE ADMITTED HE WAS IN THE BED WITH HER WHEN SHE WAS NAKED FOR A HALF AN HOUR .WE KNOW HE WAS THERE AND SHE HAD AN UNEXPLAINED BRUISE. he kept his uniform on like he said he did and used a condom like he said he did...with EVERYTHING else this is open and shut.the jury is just doing a methodical job going over all the evidence with a fine tooth comb before they nail these suckers...

neuroradical

It's not like she woke up in the morning and thought out of nowhere that she had been raped, she remembers someone raping her while another man stood watch.

ktinnyc

I'm sure the police don't know how to clean up a crime scene, right?

Can you explain why the officers returned 3 times and insisted on taking the call about the homeless man when another car had already been dispatched to the call?

sc9791

it sounds like, if this was just some guy off the streets, he'd have walked away scott free. but b/c this guy is a cop, she's seeking to nail him to the wall. i don't dig her intentions or her actions..who goes straight to the DA?

in any case, the cop was wrong. one would hope that in a situation like this, a cop would adhere to some sort of moral code.

he should lose his job, and she should stop getting so drunk.

theevilerone

I totally understand going directly to the DA. If these are your local cops, are you going to go to your local precinct to report them? I'd be afraid that their colleagues would circle the wagons and protect these guys and not investigate my claims seriously.

sc9791

I think she had sex with him...and then regretted it.
was she wasted? yes.
was the cop in the wrong? double yes.
but did he rape her? questionable