Angry Judge: Cop Acquitted Of Rape Deserves Jail For Ripping "Gaping Hole" In Fabric Of Society

With the woman who accused him of rape sitting in the courtroom, ex-police officer Kenneth Moreno was upbraided by Justice Gregory Carro, who said today that when law enforcement officials commit crimes, "It endangers the fabric of our society... You, sir, ripped a gaping hole in that fabric." Carro then sentenced him to a year in jail for official misconduct and Moreno was whisked into custody. His accuser, who wept in the courtroom gallery, left without making a statement.

The sentencing was the coda to a controversial jury verdict that convicted Moreno and his partner Franklin Mata of three counts of official misconduct for repeatedly visiting the apartment of a drunken 27-year old woman in 2008. During the trial, Moreno was acquitted of rape and burglary charges, which defense attorney Joseph Tacopino emphasized when he described the official misconduct misdemeanors as "victimless" crimes.

In their dramatic 32-page sentencing submission, the prosecution sought to make the rape accusations weigh heavily in the sentencing. In her submission, prosecutor Coleen Balbert referred to the officers' "repeated betrayals of the public trust" that were "both corrosive and destructive to our society." For his part, Tacopino asserted that the prosecution's submission was "replete with exaggerations," later stating that "It was as if they didn't hear the 'not' before the guilty in the verdict." Tacopino cited Moreno's lack of disciplinary complaints, a meritorious family life, and first-response service on 9/11 as proof of the quality of his character—and he successfully persuaded Carro not to let the accuser read a victim's impact statement.

However, Justice Carro was unimpressed with Tacopino's characterization of Moreno as "more of a simpleton than a sexual predator." "Simpleton like a fox," stated Justice Carro, who said he "accepted the jury verdict, as all should accept the jury verdict" but also dismantled Moreno's testimony, "You had a duty to testify truthfully and it's clear you didn't...It was a classic case of admit what you can't deny, and deny what you can't admit."

Many still object to the controversial jury verdict, and several groups, including New York's chapter of the National Organization for Women protested outside the courthouse Monday morning. After denying a request that Moreno be allowed to surrender to the court in 20 days, the judge ordered Moreno immediately be taken into custody. "I disagree with the judge," Tacopino said in a brief press conference after the sentencing, "I agree with the jury. I wish everyone was as brave as that jury."

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 Eva Saviano in News on August 8, 2011 4:32 PM

Comments [rss]

textyle

Would it be so difficult to add "defense attorney" before you bring in a "Tacopino" without any introduction whatsoever?
Or am I already supposed to know who he is? Then drop "justice" and "prosecutor" as well..
[i am really starting to get irked by the poor grammatical quality of this junk.]

Washington1234

The writer did identify Tacopina in the second paragraph before referring to him simply as Tacopina, "...which defense attorney Joseph Tacopino emphasized when he described the official misconduct misdemeanors as "victimless" crimes."

Mordicai

Sadly, the gaping hole was already there. This is a symptom of rape culture-- when you snort at people who try to talk about how rape victims are demonized, or how institutionalized misogyny ruins everything? Think back to this, & how these scumbags raped a woman & all but walked away from it.

JackBrat

This stupid asshole cop must have really enjoyed his time in the rack with the victim- so that now he can reflect on it over, and over again. . . for the rest of of stupid and ruined fucking life on this planet.

His wife is just as stupid as he is. . . and I hope that she enjoys the rest of her empty life too! Such people make their own problems in life! It couldn't have happened to a nicer pair of assholes!

Jesse P.S

Karma is a bitch. Who knows someone might rape this guy wife and might walk.

Emmily_Litella

Label him a homosexual and turn him over to IRAN.

callmeL

Solitary? Let him loose into the prison population - I'm sure lots of inmates would love to snuggle up to these rape cops.

ed_Extinct

A year in solitary, big deal.

Robert Kim

The false-rape accuser needs to be revealed to the public and shamed. This trashy slut of an executive has destroyed the lives of two imperfect cops forever.

She needs to be revealed NOW!!!!!!!!!!!

edgie168

lol.. ?

seattlesnow

Ha! Alf

Samantha_Ga

So why didn't he get the maximum time in jail then if the judge thought so highly of him?

Fromthewall

SG: It was the max jail time for a misdemeanor. Max if he had been given CONSECUTIVE sentences would have been 2. But they are concurrent. So: Max = 1.

Samantha_Ga

Ah, thanks for clearing that up.

Guest

Oh, I also see that he was a "family man." Can we just cut the fucking bullshit right now. I've been in the military and worked around cops my whole life. These same mother fuckers that are deacons of their church, wearing fucking crosses, etc., are putting their dicks in anything that will take them. His wife needs to wake the fuck up. She doesn't because why? She doesn't want to admit she married such a fucking loser. Deep down she knows she'll feel ugly if she admits that her husband was so pathetic he banged a drunk chick instead of banging her.

Guest

I'm glad to see "oh, please believe me, I only cuddled with her" is getting sent to jail. Give me a fucking break. There are so many good cops. This guy and his ass hat friend are pieces of shit that are getting what they deserve. Have fun in jail douche...