BROOKLYN — Two detectives accused of sexually assaulting a handcuffed teenager following a traffic stop should be arrested after the victim and a witness picked one of the officers out of a photo lineup, the woman's lawyer said Monday.
The detectives, identified by police sources as Richard Hall and Eddie Martins, are accused of pulling the 18-year-old into an unmarked van in Calvert Vaux Park in Gravesend on Sept. 15, handcuffing her and forcing her to perform oral sex on them before one of the detectives raped her, according to the teen’s lawyer, Michael David.
The teen and a friend who was there that night both picked out Martins in separate photo lineups, the lawyer said. There wasn't a lineup for Hall, David said.
The Brooklyn District Attorney's office is investigating the incident, but neither detective has been arrested or charged.
“We’re very upset, because we think if this was a civilian accused and identified for this crime, they’d be arrested the same night,” David told DNAinfo New York.
Both detectives — who each have at least seven years on the force, along with their supervisor, 22-year NYPD veteran Sgt. John Espey — have been placed on desk duty following the accusations, according to police.
The young woman is in the process of suing the city over the incident, and the NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau is also investigating the accusations against Martins and Hall, a police spokesman said.
The ordeal began at about 8 p.m. on Sept. 15, when the detectives pulled her and two friends over as they drove in Calvert Vaux Park, finding legal prescription drugs on her friends, David said. They sent the two friends on their way, but detained the victim in an unmarked van, made her remove her top, handcuffed her and told her she would have to perform oral sex on them if she wanted to avoid being booked, her lawyer said.
They then drove her to a nearby Chipotle parking lot, where one of the detectives raped her before letting the terrified, disoriented young woman out of the van, according to David. She was held for about 45 minutes and remained handcuffed the entire time, he noted.
“They basically kidnapped her,” he said. “She was totally hysterical.”
After she was released, a friend who had been with her in the car earlier drove the young woman home, David added. The victim’s mom then brought her to Maimonides Hospital, where doctors administered a rape kit and notified police of the incident, David added.
Her attorney has filed a notice of claim with Comptroller Scott Stringer's office, the first step in suing the city.
Michael Palladino, president of the Detectives' Endowment Association, said it was too early to comment on the accusations.
"These are serious allegations and I am very concerned," he said. "However, until this investigation is completed, I cannot make an informed comment."
