2 NYPD officers accused of robbing and groping sex worker in Queens
Two New York City police officers are facing charges of forcible touching and burglary after prosecutors say they entered a Queens brothel, stole money from a sex worker and groped her.
Officers Justin McMillan and Officer Justin Colon faced a judge for the first time on Monday.
Here's what prosecutors say happened
The Queens District Attorney's Office said Monday the officers committed the crimes back in July at 89th Street and Roosevelt Avenue, an area where the NYPD has been trying to crack down on brothels.
Prosecutors say McMillan and Colon responded to a call about prostitution at a building on 89th and then took a key from a woman exiting a brothel. Investigators say McMillan and Colon reported that they saw nothing and left, but then returned eight hours later -- still in uniform and on duty -- and unlocked the brothel door.
- Read more: Queens community leaders plead for NYPD to extend anti-brothel operation along Roosevelt Avenue
The DA's office says a man who was engaged in prostitution took off, and then McMillan stole cash from a sex worker and groped her buttocks and breast. Prosecutors say that sex worker ran off and called 911 after McMillan groped her.
Law enforcement sources say the officers, who are both in their first two years on the job, turned off the lights when they entered and never reported anything that happened.
- Read more: As NYPD cracks down on illegal brothels in Queens, advocates say community needs resources not raids
Accused officers plan to fight the charges
The officers and their attorneys said nothing as they left court after entering pleas of not guilty. Both of their lawyers told the judge they deny the charges and plan on fighting them.
District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a statement the officers' body-worn cameras were "intentionally turned off so that their misdeeds would not be recorded."
Police say the NYPD's Internal Affairs Bureau initiated the investigation. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch told CBS News New York police work is based on public trust and, "When that trust is broken, as it was in this case, the entire police department must answer for it," adding any officer who violates their oath will be held accountable.
The accused officers are now suspended without pay and are due back in court in late April.