Watch CBS News

Ex-NYPD Officer Acquitted Of Rape Sues Accuser

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A former police officer acquitted of raping a drunken woman he helped get home has sued her and New York City.

His lawyer told the Daily News that Kenneth Moreno filed the lawsuit to recover monetary damages and restore his reputation.

The News said the woman now lives in San Francisco and could not be reached for comment.

A city Law Department spokeswoman said the allegations will be reviewed when city lawyers receive the papers.

Moreno and his partner, Franklin Mata, were convicted of official misconduct in 2011 for repeatedly returning to the woman's apartment while telling dispatchers they were elsewhere. Moreno served nine months of a one-year sentence.

Moreno was accused of the sex act, and Mata was accused of helping Moreno by acting as a lookout.

Grainy images on a building surveillance tape became key evidence in the rape case against the two officers.

Assistant District Attorney Randolph Clark Jr. told jurors during the trial in 2011, for the then-27-year-old female fashion industry executive who just attended her own going away party, "what started out as a day of celebration turned into a night of horror."

He added that through their actions, the officers "targeted two things: the sanctity of our bodies, and the sanctity of our homes."

Clark went on to describe how the woman was so drunk she needed help getting out of the cab, and how a short time later, she recalled lying face down on her bed, hearing the sound of a police radio. She remembers her tights being pulled down and waking up knowing she was raped.

Prosecutor called the officers' actions "calculated, predatory and repeated criminal activity, a rejection of their duty."

In September 2011, Moreno skirted a heroin charge after two glassines of the drug were found in his police locker during the rape investigation, WCBS 880's Irene Cornell reported.

Defense attorney Joe Tacopina was ready to argue the locker is shared by five cops when judge Gregory Carro dismissed the case.

You Might Also Be Interested In:

(TM and © Copyright 2014 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2014 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.