"Gunpoint Rape Cop" Says That "The Truth Will Come Out"

(mister mark davis' flickr)

The 27-year-old police officer accused of raping a woman at gunpoint in Inwood early last Friday is worried that the Manhattan DA is going to try and "make an example" out of him over a misunderstanding. Three-year-veteran Michael Pena, currently at Rikers, told the Daily News in his first jailhouse interview that "The DA is arresting cops, indicting cops. They're trying to make an example out of me."

And he very possibly isn't totally wrong about the example thing. Cy Vance, the Manhattan DA, certainly does have a lot of good reasons to want to throw the book at a police officer who is accused of raping a person he swore to protect. And not just because rape is a terrible crime. Vance is still smarting from the way his last "rape cop" trail turned out, not to mention the rapidly disintegrating DSK case.

Pena is accused of drunkenly forcing a 25-year-old teacher he met on the street at 6:15 a.m. last Friday to have sex with him behind an apartment building. But he says that while it isn't that simple, his lawyer won't let him comment on the specifics: "There's a lot I want to say about this," he said. "Eventually, the truth will come out. Everything's not black and white. There are shades of gray."

Pena is being held on $1 million bond, and says that so far he is handling life in Rikers "all right." His family, meanwhile, is standing behind him. His father earlier this weekend told the media "My son is innocent. I believe that 100%. He's not the kind of person who would do that." And at least until Friday, the younger Pena agreed. "Everything was fine—perfect—before that day," he said from Rikers.

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By Garth Johnston in News on August 22, 2011 10:04 AM

Comments [rss]

Barbara Starkweather

Good luck to him. There are witnesses, not only the victim, but the two people who called 911, and the cops who responded. I wouldn't want to go up against that in court.

I suspect his real beef is, as he himself says, "The DA is arresting cops, indicting cops". I suspect Mr Pena has the attitude that cops should never be questioned or accused of anything, let alone arrested or indicted.

Guest

Not all cops are bad. Some are really great men and women. This piece of shit...please...give us all a fucking break M015094. Even if only 1/3 of the facts are accurate, he's still a piece of shit. And there is no way, the victim and others who saw what was happening are all liars. And what worries me is *this* is the type of person NYPD hires. As in, he's clearly a fucking idiot with absolutely no logic skills (what dumb fucking statements!). That worries me when someone so fucking dumb carries a gun and badge. Let's face it, there are some fucking scumbags who get through the background process to become a police officer. This is a good example. I absolutely hope they make an example out of him.

k122n

I see possibly two comments insinuating he is likely guilty. Hardly all Gothamist readers. So what's your point, besides trying to paint all Gothamist readers with a broad, sloppy brush?

Generalizations make no one look bad but you.

m015094

Innocent until proven guilty....I guess not for Gothamist readers.

sketto

Actually, he's only "presumed" innocent for the purposes of the law. He's not necessarily actually innocent. So, he'll get his due process and we'll see.

But if he's guilty, he's guilty right now.

petey2

for the majority here, if its a cop, guilty before accused.

ohmygodshutup

They should make an example out of this guy. And that example should be castration...

Dirk

Yes. I'm sure the truth will come out: This school teacher had it coming. She lead him on. She wore a provocative skirt. She was on her way to work and saw this boozy man staggering around and said to herself "I want to have sex with him."

Seriously... is this thug trying to say that this was a consensual sexual encounter? This whole thing makes me sick.

nicemarmot

They'll probably inspect her mattress, and having found some DNA trace of another man she once had sex with years ago, declare that she's such a slut she can't possibly be raped. And besides, don't all teachers drop their panties with random strangers on the way to work?

Guest

No. They usually drop them for teenagers they know.

sharpshoota

I'm sure it is pig. Let's hope the folks that reside in the building where he raped her int he backyard make it to the stand. Unfortunately, NYPD is hiring the same thugs you avoid on the NYC streets. Now they give them badges and guns.