South Sudan diplomat accused of rape not yet facing charges, raising questions about diplomatic immunity
NEW YORK -- A career diplomat from South Sudan living in New York City is accused of raping a woman and not being charged.
CBS2's Jessica Moore has more on the case and the controversy surrounding diplomatic immunity.
The 24-year-old victim says she was walking her dog around noon on Sunday when a Sudanese diplomat followed her inside their shared apartment building in Upper Manhattan, forced his way into her apartment, and raped her twice.
"Once people are diplomats and they have a certain status or even power, most of the time they're used to getting away with things. I think that, if anything, if he does get sent home he should face penalties over there, if not be held, you know, be held in a court of law over here in the United States," one person said.
Diplomatic immunity has long been a point of contention in the city. The NYPD confirms it took the suspect in for questioning, but let him go when he declared his diplomatic status.
"Certainly, there's a lot of scofflawing activity at the UN. We can't take the view that these people are just going to do whatever they're going to do," said Dr. Joshua Muravchik of the Institute of World Politics.
In 2013, an Indian diplomat was arrested for lying on her nanny's visa application and paying her slave wages.
But most diplomats go unpunished.
In the span of five years, the NYPD says United Nations diplomats were cited for 150,000 parking tickets. None were ever paid.
"The police are really handcuffed. They can't do their full job because you're not even really allowed to arrest or detain a diplomat, so they have to let them go," constitutional attorney Andrew Lieb said.
In this case, legal experts say there may be repercussions.
"The police are still supposed to investigate even if someone has diplomatic immunity. If it was a serious crime, the U.S. Department of State is going to ask Sudan to waive diplomatic immunity to start with, because it doesn't belong to the diplomat; it belongs to the country. So they're going to say, 'Hey, can we prosecute this guy now?' And if South Sudan says no, then they're going to send him out of the country because you can't stay here, even with diplomatic immunity, if you are a raper," Lieb said.
The Sudanese Consulate would not comment on whether the diplomat is still in the country. The State Department confirmed it is now involved and will determine how to proceed.
