Charges: On-duty NYPD detectives handcuffed woman, then raped her
NEW YORK -- Two New York City police detectives are accused of threatening an 18-year-old woman with arrest over a bottle of prescription pills, handcuffing her, driving her around and then raping her.
Acting Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez says the detectives, Eddie Martins and Richard Hall, were arraigned Monday on a 50-count indictment that includes kidnapping and rape counts.
The woman says the detectives assaulted her on Sept. 15 while they were on duty. The woman's attorney Michael David told CBS New York last month the woman was driving with two friends in Brooklyn when two plainclothes detectives in a black van pulled them over.
David told the station one of the friends had some pills on him, along with a prescription. The detectives allegedly told the two friends to leave.
The detectives then allegedly told the woman she was under arrest, handcuffed her and put her in the van. The station reports they drove her to a parking lot where they allegedly sexually assaulted her in the van.
"There was nothing she could do to defend herself," David told CBS New York.
The prosecutor says DNA recovered from the woman matched both defendants.
Martin and Hall claim the sex was consensual and are expected to surrender this week, reports CBS New York. Martins' attorney, Mark Bederow, says there is no "credible evidence" that the teen "was forcibly raped." Hall's attorney did not immediate return a call for comment.
The president of the detectives' union, Michael Palladino, says the officers are entitled to "a presumption of innocence."
The station reports the detectives are assigned to a special narcotics unit. The NYPD is reportedly conducting an internal investigation.
