A former math teacher being sued in federal court for violating the rights of a student he slept with has come up with an interesting reason why he should not have to pay up. Julio Cesar Benavides, who is defending himself in court, says that he didn't violate the girl's rights and even if he did, he certainly didn't do it in his official capacity as a teacher, a charge at the heart of the complaint. The Post reports that Benavides recently wrote to the judge in the case to explain that in class he treated his then-14-year-old victim like "all the other students." more ›

A Brooklyn woman who claims a police officer forced his way into her home and molested her testified yesterday that the cop said: "It's okay. You're 17 now. You're legal." Ronessa Hollingsworth says she was late to school when Officer Andrew Johnson ordered her to get into his squad car on Jan. 18, 2006. The cop then questioned her and demanded her cellphone number before driving her home. A few hours later, Johnson reportedly called Hollingsworth, showed up at her residence, and pushed his way in when the teen opened the door. more ›

Now that a jury has found Darryl Littlejohn guilty for the murder of John Jay graduate student Imette St. Guillen, St. Guillen's family is working on their civil suit against the bouncer. And the NY Post reports that Littlejohn stands to inherit $750,000 from his late mother's estate. Initially, when St. Guillen's lawyer Joseph Tacopina did a search in 2006, Littlejohn, an ex-con, had no money to his name. But this past April, Queens Probate Court filings showed that Littlejohn's mother left two homes, one in Queens and one in South Carolina. Tacopina said he would file for a lien on the estate, "We did not expect this was going to happen. But we had our eyes on any court decisions in his name...We want to get [the money] in the hands of the Spirit of Imette Foundation." Lawyers for Littlejohn, who faces life in prison for the murder, say they plan to appeal. more ›

The five teenagers once accused of rape in the Central Park Jogger case are planning to sue the city for $50 million each. The five were released from prison in 2002 after the DNA of Matias Reyes was found at the scene of the crime and Reyes confessed. A 2003 NYPD report though still says that the five men "most likely" were involved with the crime. The teenagers had previously confessed to the 1989 rape and their lawyer Roger Wareham says that the suit will uncover how "diabolically" detectives worked to force it out of them. "If the city refuses to settle, we are going to relive the whole racial climate of 1989," said Wareham. more ›