A juror who voted to acquit two cops charged with raping a drunken East Village woman said they belong behind bars. The ex-patrol officers were found not guilty of sexual assault last month – but guilty of official misconduct for repeatedly returning to the woman’s E. 13th St. apartment the night of Dec. 7, 2008. They now face up to two years behind bars. Hit the jump to read the rest of the story.
A juror who voted to acquit two cops charged with raping a drunken East Village woman said they belong behind bars.
Juror Melinda Hernandez told the Daily News she believes “in my heart” that the men were guilty of rape, but said prosecutors failed to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt.
“I hope [the judge] throws the gavel at them,” Hernandez said of fired cops Kenneth Moreno and Franklin Mata, who will be sentenced Tuesday by Supreme Court Justice Gregory Carro. “They should get the max. They deserve it.”
The ex-patrol officers were found not guilty of sexual assault last month – but guilty of official misconduct for repeatedly returning to the woman’s E. 13th St. apartment the night of Dec. 7, 2008.
They now face up to two years behind bars.
Moreno, 43, and Mata, 29, vehemently denied sexually assaulting the 29-year-old Gap executive, who now lives in San Francisco. They admitted returning to the woman’s apartment without authorization from their superiors, and Moreno even conceded he spooned with the near-naked woman in her bed.
Their lawyers did not return calls.
Hernandez, a retired electrician, said Mata, who was accused of being the lookout, should be punished equally.
“They should be roommates” in prison, she said.
