By Shayna Jacobs
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN SUPREME COURT — A Manhattan jury found NYPD officer Wilfredo Rosario guilty of trying to bribe a then-17-year-old girl with an offer to revoke a trespass summons in exchange for a sexual favor.
Prosecutors said the incident took place after dark in Riverside Park in 2002. While on duty on the Upper West Side, Rosario took the girl to an isolated spot and issued her a trespass ticket, then told her he would expunge the charge in exchange for oral sex.
The verdict came after one day of deliberations. He was found guilty of official misconduct and and attempted coercion and faces up to a year and 90 days behind bars.
Since that incident, Rosario, 41, has been accused of rape and other sex crimes. He faces separate pending charges on those matters.
The victim of the park proposition, now a 26-year-old dog groomer, said she initially agreed to perform the act, but only to buy herself time.
"I said, 'Yes, but not now,' because i knew that i could get out of it if I gave myself enough time," she testified.
The woman said she kept Rosario talking to distract him. She eventually told her parents who brought the matter to authorities.
Rosario is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 29. The Manhattan Supreme Court judge remanded his bail and put him behind bars after the verdict.
