Yesterday, the NY Post published an interview with Julia Moreno, the wife of the (now former) police officer acquitted of raping a drunk East Village woman while on duty, where the weary spouse said the accuser "should go to jail for this" and should "go to hell." Now, the NY Times has run its interview with Mrs. Kenneth Moreno: She said the accuser made up a story, "From the beginning of time, this is what girls do — young girls, inexperienced. They’re not mature. They get drunk. They do these things and, you know, they want sympathy. In his case I believe she wanted sympathy from her friends because they threw her out of her own party."
Kenneth Moreno admitted that he flirted and cuddled with the accuser, but insisted he never had sexual relations with her. He also said she stripped down her to bra and rubbed her butt against him as he sang Bon Jovi to her. And, when confronted by a tape made by the accuser where he admits to using a condom while having sex with her, Moreno said he only told her that to calm her down outside the police precinct. However, Moreno and his partner, Franklin Mata, were seen visiting the woman's apartment repeatedly throughout the night and Moreno made a fake 911 call so they could get assigned to the area.
Julia Moreno, 28, told the Times with ("tears streaming down beneath her sunglasses and her lip gloss caking at the corner of her mouth"), "Because of this woman’s allegations, our whole life has completely changed... She robbed not only me, not only him, she robbed our kids of quality time. She robbed us of so many things." While she was angry that her husband cuddled with the near-naked accuser, Julia Moreno explained why she believes him:
Ms. Moreno also said that certain things about the rape claims defied possibility, like the fact that no DNA evidence was found.
“Being a realist, you know that deed is a messy business,” she said.
She also said the accuser’s claims that she heard Velcro tearing from Mr. Moreno’s bullet-resistant vest was implausible because to her knowledge, he never undid the Velcro when he removed his vest — in fact, he yelled at her once, she said, because she undid all the straps when washing his vest.
Julia Moreno is also angry that people, in spite of her husband's acquittal, still think he's guilty, "[They] just want to assume that she’s a victim when, obviously, 12 people saw otherwise; it’s sad to see that they’re reacting like that."
Kenneth Moreno was interviewed by the Daily News, and he raged against the Manhattan DA's office, "I had faith in the DA's office, especially because I was innocent... I guess they had to continue. I am so very confused. I think it was more politics than criminal." He added, "I know what happened. I didn't suffer from any blackouts. There was no sexual contact between me and that young lady. I find it hard to believe that people can't believe a gentleman said no."
Update (9/9/11): Gothamist has published a long-form feature about the Rape Cop case, written by one of the jurors. It takes you behind the scenes during their deliberations, and explains how they came to their controversial verdict. Buy it today as a PDF or on Kindle.
