Cop
Guilty of Gunpoint Sex Attack, But Jury Deadlocked on Rape Charge Updated March
27, 2012 4:56pm
MANHATTAN
SUPREME COURT — Police officer Michael Pena was convicted of a brutal gunpoint
sexual assault against a 25-year-old teacher last year and could face life in
prison, a Manhattan jury decided Tuesday.
After
three days of deliberations a jury of eight men and four women convicted the
28-year-old Pena of three counts of predatory sexual assault and three counts
criminal sex act on Monday.
Predatory
sexual assault carries a maximum of 25 years to life in prison.
The
victim, surrounded by friends and supporters, bent over and sobbed hysterically
throughout parts of the jury's verdict reading.
The
jury remained deadlocked on two counts of rape in the first degree, which
required proof of sexual penetration for a conviction. Jurors were asked to
continue deliberating on those charges. They were instructed to return
Wednesday.
Prosecutors
said Pena spent the early morning hours of Aug. 19, 2012 drinking at a
Washington Heights club where he tried to take home a bartender and searched
Craigslist for potential sexual hookups.
After
the club closed he wandered the streets of Upper Manhattan until he spotted the
victim and had a "stalker moment" in which he followed the woman and
forced her to go to a nearby alley at gunpoint, Assistant District Attorney
Evan Krutoy told jurors.
Terrified
and fearing for her life, she offered Pena her cell phone, jewelry and wallet,
hoping he would take the items and leave her alone.
Instead
he ushered her along and she screamed for help.
"Shut
the f--- up or I'll shoot you," the victim testified Pena told her.
Several
neighbors witnessed what was happening and one woman, who was awakened to the
lurid scene unfolding outsider her window, dialed 911 for help.
"Hi,
there appears to be sex going on that is not consensual in the backyard of the
house," the neighbor, Ann Bishop, told a 911 dispatcher.
Pena's
attorney, Ephraim Savitt, argued that the cop was overcharged by prosecutors
when they sought an indictment of rape in the first degree.
Savitt
argued there was insufficent proof that there was penetration as definded by
statute for rape.
There
were six days of testimony before Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Richard
Carruthers.
Inwood
residents expressed some sense of relief.
"He's
the one who's supposed to bring justice to people, but he committed the
crime," said Michelle P., 34, a nurse who lives next door to where the
incident took place. "He deserves to serve his time. Hopefully they get
him for rape too."
She
was still upset by the incident.''It happened early in the morning," she
said. "It was scary. It could've been me, anyone.''
Neil
Orman, 41, a videographer, called it a "good thing" to convict a
"bad seed" officer.
"Hopefully
that discourages anyone else who would attack a woman," Orman said. ''It
was very unsettling. Broad daylight on a nice street — you wouldn't expect that
to happen.''
Maria
Lizardo, deputy director of client services at the NMIC, an Upper Manhattan
community based organization, said she and her staff have been watching this
case carefully because of the impact it has had on the community.
When
people in power "fall into a pattern of abuse and treat women as property,
it is very scary," Lizardo said, "and causes [victims] not to go out
and seek help if something happens. Women are afraid to go into the precinct
for help."
She
added: "As it is the culture of the police is not very victim-friendly.
From the moment you enter the building, it’s like you have a big stop sign in
front of you."
Lizardo's
organization provides advocate services to ensure victims are assisted through
the process of reporting a crime such as rape, she said. "It can be a very
intimidating process."