An article on Gothamist offers a behind-the-scenes look — from the perspective of one of the jurors — at the trial of an ex-police officer accused of raping a woman in her East Village home. In one bizarre scene in the story (which is behind a paywall), the exonerated police officer, Kenneth Moreno, embraces and thanks the author, who only a few days prior had declared him not guilty. Another episode reveals that on the first day of deliberations, nine of the 12 jurors already thought that the prosecution had failed to prove Mr. Moreno’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
TRIAL
Board Weighs In On Sentencing
By LAURA E. LEECommunity Board 3 passed a resolution Tuesday night condemning the actions of the two former Ninth Precinct police officers who were convicted of official misconduct in May. The former officers, Kenneth Moreno and Franklin L. Mata, were acquitted of all other charges from the 2008 incident in which a woman said that she was raped by the officers after they helped her to her East Village home. The resolution calls on the sentencing judge to impose the harshest possible punishment on each of the men — two years in prison.
—Laura E. Lee
Officers Found Not Guilty of Rape
By THE LOCALTwo East Village police officers were found not guilty today of raping a drunken woman after helping her home to her apartment. The officers, Kenneth Moreno and Franklin Mata, were convicted of official misconduct for entering the woman’s apartment but acquitted on all other charges; Mr. Moreno and Mr. Mata, who worked in the Ninth Precinct, had been indicted in 2009 and their trial lasted almost two months. Visit The Times for complete coverage.
—The Local
