The anonymous woman who accused cops Kenneth Moreno and Franklin Mata of rape — and was subsequently put on trial and publicly vilified by Moreno’s wife, Julia — released a response statement on Monday. In part, the statement reads:
I know that in a criminal trial a verdict of not guilty does not necessarily mean the defendants were found innocent, but I am devastated and disappointed by the jury’s decision. I have waited two and half years for closure that will now never come. Hearing that verdict brought me to my knees; it brought me back to my bedroom on that awful night when my world was turned upside down by the actions of two police officers who were sent there to protect, but instead took advantage of their authority and broke the law.
She ended the statement by noting that, “For me, public opinion will be the ultimate verdict.”
Kenneth Moreno’s lawyer, Joseph Tacopina, released this statement in response:
“Although the accuser cites ‘public opinion’ as the ‘ultimate verdict,’ we are a nation of laws; not mob justice. It was the jury, and not the ‘public,’ that heard all of the testimony in this case, including that of the accuser, and rendered a verdict consistent with the evidence and the law. That verdict should be respected.”
Woman who said cops raped her left shattered by jury’s verdict [NYP]
Woman in Rape Case Says Verdict Left Her ‘Devastated’ [City Room/NYT]
