MANHATTAN SUPREME COURT — The East Village fashion executive who accused two New York City police officers of rape could appear in court Monday, when the men, who were acquitted of sexually assaulting her, are due to be sentenced on other charges.
Kenneth Moreno, 43, and Franklin Mata, 29, were found not guilty on charges of rape, burglary, falsifying records, and criminal facilitation last May, after a grueling trial that captivated the city for more than two months.
Prosecutors claimed that the men, then members of the NYPD, raped the woman, whom they had been called to assist after a taxi driver said she was too intoxicated to make it into her apartment.
Some jurors said they believed that Moreno had in fact raped the 29-year-old while Mata stood lookout, but felt they couldn't convict without DNA evidence to corroborate the woman's story — a phenomenon dubbed "The CSI Effect."
However, jurors found the former officers guilty of official misconduct for failing to call an ambulance on behalf of the woman and for entering her apartment three times without permission — charges for which they are set to be sentenced on Monday.
The accuser, who now lives in San Fransisco, might have a chance to speak against Moreno and Mata at Monday's hearing, but defense attorneys have opposed allowing her to make a statement, arguing that she was not a victim of the crimes for which the former officers were convicted.
It will be up to Judge Gregory Carro, who presided over the high-profile trial, whether the woman is allowed to make a statement.
The sentencing had originally been scheduled for June 28, but was postponed to Aug. 8 after defense attorneys accused prosecutors of failing to hand over footage from an HBO documentary about the District Attorney's Sex Crimes Unit, which was filmed during the lead-up to the trial.
Lawyers for the former officers have asked the judge to toss the conviction based on the alleged failure to hand over the footage.
Moreno still faces heroin possession charges for drugs that were allegedly found in his police locker after his arrest.
