Ex-cops seek to bar rape accuser's remarks

The two former NYPD officers acquitted of rape but convicted of official misconduct earlier this month 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 having sex with her, prosecutors lacked DNA or other scientific evidence to corroborate her statements. 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 Carra said that, while victims only have a right to be heard at a felony sentencing, judges were allowed to hear from them in misdemeanor cases as well. He did not rule on the defense claim that the woman is not a victim, but did set a date when she will be able to come.

Outside court, 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.

Moreno and Mata were fired from the NYPD immediately after the verdict.

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