NYPD detectives accused of raping teen in custody resign
Two NYPD detectives accused of raping a teenager while she was in custody resigned Monday, ABC's local affiliate in New York reports. Eddie Martins and Richard Hall were indicted on 50 counts and suspended by NYPD the last week. The two officers were members of the NYPD's narcotics unit in south Brooklyn and were charged with rape, sexual abuse, sexual misconduct, and coercion.
The incident in question occurred on Sept. 15, when Martins and Hall stopped a car driven by an 18-year-old woman with two male passengers. The detectives arrested and handcuffed the woman for possession of marijuana and anti-anxiety medication and told her passengers to leave and pick up her later, the district attorney's office said. The two officers then reportedly took turns raping the woman in the back seat of their police van before dropping her off in the 60th precinct and telling her to "keep her mouth shut."
The woman went to Maimonides Medical Center and underwent a sexual assault exam, which found samples of DNA that matched both of the detectives. The prosecutors also found that surveillance footage showed the victim getting out of the police van 40 minutes after she was taken into custody by the two detectives.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The victim is seeking $50 million in damages. If the two detectives are found guilty, they could each face up to 25 years in prison. Before the two men quit their jobs Monday, their lawyers attacked the accuser, pointing to "provocative" social media content as behavior that was "unprecedented for a depressed victim of a vicious rape."
The case has sparked a conversation about New York's penal code, which prohibits sex between corrections officers and inmates and parole officers and parolees, but not police officers and arrestees.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kelly O'Meara Morales is a staff writer at The Week. He graduated from Sarah Lawrence College and studied Middle Eastern history and nonfiction writing amongst other esoteric subjects. When not compulsively checking Twitter, he writes and records music, subsists on tacos, and watches basketball.
-
Is there a Christmas curse on Downing Street?
Today's Big Question Keir Starmer could follow a long line of prime ministers forced to swap festive cheer for the dreaded Christmas crisis
By The Week UK Published
-
Are pig-organ transplants becoming a reality?
The Explainer US woman has gene-edited pig-kidney transplant, and scientists hope experimental surgery could save thousands of lives
By Abby Wilson Published
-
Blake Lively's 'bombshell' legal action
In the spotlight It Ends With Us actor files 'astonishing' court filing against co-star and director Justin Baldoni
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditions
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mega Millions jackpot climbs to an estimated $1.55 billion
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
Bangladesh dealing with worst dengue fever outbreak on record
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
Glacial outburst flooding in Juneau destroys homes
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
Scotland seeking 'monster hunters' to search for fabled Loch Ness creature
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published