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Coney Island Detectives Indicted for Raping Teen, Lawyer Says

By  Noah  Hurowitz and Janon Fisher | October 27, 2017 5:42pm | Updated on October 30, 2017 7:20am

 Councilman Mark Treyger says he's drafting legislation outlawing cops from having on-the-job sex with civilians.
Councilman Mark Treyger says he's drafting legislation outlawing cops from having on-the-job sex with civilians.
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DNAinfo/Chelsia Marcius

BROOKLYN — Two narcotics detectives accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl in their custody have been indicted on rape and bribery charges stemming from the incident, sources said Friday.

The detectives, Eddie Martins and Richard Hall, who have been on desk duty since the accusations against them surfaced, face a minimum of three years and a maximum of 25 years in prison if convicted.

They are expected to turn themselves in for arraignment next week, according to the New York Post, which first reported the indictment.

The pair, who were working in the NYPD's Brooklyn South Narcotics Unit, picked up the teen during a traffic stop in Calvert Vaux Park in Gravesend on Sept. 15, driving her in a van to a nearby Chipotle parking lot, and forcing her to perform oral sex on them while handcuffed, according to her lawyer, Michael David, who is representing her in a lawsuit against the city.

During the stop the detectives found pills in the car, but let the young woman’s friends go after they were able to show valid prescriptions, David said. They took the girl into custody, however, handcuffing her in an unmarked NYPD van and forcing her to remove her top before assaulting her, the teen’s lawyer said.

After she was released, a friend drove her home, and her mother brought her to Maimonides Hospital, where a rape kit was performed, David said.

Sgt. John Espey, a 22-year veteran of the NYPD who was the supervisor of two detectives has also been placed on desk duty since the allegations surfaced, police said.

Mark Bederow, the lawyer for Martins, said that the indictment doesn't prove anything.

“We intend to vigorously challenge the allegations that have been put forth, and he’s entitled to the presumption of innocence," Bederow said. "He doesn’t lose that just because he’s a police officer, and people should keep an open mind about what happened here. It’s one thing to make public statements and another to prove it in court.”

David said he had no firsthand information about any charges filed against the two, but said he hoped an indictment would help prove his client’s accusations.

“Assuming this is true, it would validate everything my client has been saying,” David said. “She was kidnapped, handcuffed, raped, and sexually assaulted in an NYPD vehicle before they dumped her out on the street. We certainly hope charges have been filed.”

A spokesman for the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office declined to comment.