Accuser in cop rape case wants say

The two NYPD officers acquitted of rape but convicted of official misconduct in May are trying to block the 29-year-old Gap executive who accused them from speaking at their sentencing.

Lawyers for ex-cops Kenneth Moreno and Franklin Mata argued that the woman could not be considered a "victim" in light of the acquittal and should not be heard when the two are sentenced Aug. 8.

"She's had her day in court," said Joseph Tacopina, Moreno's lawyer. "The jury has spoken. For her to speak at a sentencing on a misdemeanor conviction where the charge is official misconduct is inappropriate."

Moreno and Mata were accused of raping the woman, who was drunk from a night of partying, after helping her from a cab to her East Village apartment in 2008. They were convicted only of entering her apartment three more times that night without notifying supervisors.

Despite wrenching, emotional testimony from the woman saying that she remembered one of the officers sexually assaulting her, prosecutors lacked DNA or other scientific evidence to corroborate her story. The officers claimed she partially stripped and flirted with them.

Mata and Moreno each face up to two years in jail. The dispute over the accuser's right to speak came during a hearing to set a new date for sentencing in August, when prosecutor Coleen Balbert asked for a date that would be convenient to the accuser, who now lives in San Francisco.

Judge Gregory Carro said that although victims only have a right to be heard at a felony sentencing, judges were allowed to hear from them in misdemeanor cases as well.

SEE PHOTOSNotable LI crimes

He did not rule on the defense claim that the woman is not a victim, but did set a sentencing date in August when prosecutors said she will be able to appear.

Outside State Supreme Court in Manhattan, Tacopina acknowledged that the "official misconduct" convictions involved entering the woman's apartment. But he said they were acquitted of burglary as well as rape, and argued that technically the victim of the official misconduct was the police department, which was deprived of their services.

Tacopina said probation officials have recommended no jail time for Moreno and Mata, who have both been fired by the NYPD.

In other developments Tuesday, prosecutors revealed that they had discussed the so-called "rape cops" case on camera with a filmmaker before trial for a documentary aired on HBO. They said they had turned over footage of the interviews to the defense.

Defense lawyers filed motions Tuesday to overturn the official misconduct guilty verdicts on technical grounds, and said they would be reviewing the footage to see if there were additional grounds for attacking the guilty verdicts.