Ex-NYPD detectives get probation, no prison time after sex with woman in custody

Two former New York Police Department detectives were not sentenced to any time in prison after they pleaded guilty to bribe receiving and official misconduct after having sex with a woman they had arrested. 

Eddie Martins, 39, and Richard Hall, 34, were given five years’ probation, according to a Thursday statement from the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office.

{mosads}Prosecutors had recommended that the former officers be sentenced to one to three years in prison, but because the defendants pleaded guilty to the entire indictment, the probation sentence was issued without prosecutors’ consent.

The men had previously been charged with violent felony counts, including rape, but those charges were later dismissed, according to CNN. State Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun reportedly said that he had agreed to give the men probation because those felony counts couldn’t be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. 

Chun said he found the scientific evidence in the case “very compelling” but said that a jury might only convict the former officers on misdemeanor charges, CNN reported, citing a court transcript.

“The credibility of the victim, or the complainant, in this case was seriously, seriously questionable, at best,” he reportedly added, also arguing that the accuser could be charged for offering a bribe to the former detectives. 

Michael N. David, a lawyer representing the woman, said he was “outraged” by the sentence.

“It’s complete injustice what happened today. You can’t consent when you’re 5’3, 100 pounds and they’re both over 6 feet and very muscular. They had her in handcuffs. These cops got a free pass,” he told CNN.

The former officers were first arraigned in 2017 on charges including first-degree rape, first-degree criminal sexual act and second-degree kidnapping, prosecutors said.

Mark Bederow, who represented Martins, said prosecutors were following “the political climate at the time” and had originally “botched” the case but called the plea agreement “a fair outcome.”

“Let me be clear, I’m not criticizing the ‘Me Too’ movement. I’m criticizing the DA’s office,” he told CNN. “They had evidence that the victim had repeatedly lied under oath about virtually everything and, rather than presenting that evidence, they — given the climate — brought forth first-degree rape charges.”

District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said in the statement that the case prompted New York to pass a law prohibiting officers from having sex with people who are in custody and closed a loophole that allowed officers to claim sex was consensual.

“These defendants engaged in a shocking abuse of power which they finally acknowledged. While I would have preferred to see them serve prison time, they are no longer members of our police department and with today’s plea are convicted felons,” he said.

Prosecutors said that the then-18-year-old woman was arrested after she told officers during a car stop that she had marijuana and two Klonopin pills. She then had sexual intercourse with Martins and performed a sex act on Hall inside a police van and was later released, according to the statement.

DNA matching both defendants was recovered from her.