BIG TROUBLE: Accused “alley rape” cop Michael Pena at his trial yesterday. (Laura Cavanaugh)
In a bizarre and often graphic opening statement, the lawyer for an NYPD officer accused of raping a young woman en route to her first day as a teacher told jurors yesterday that his client is innocent because he didn’t technically rape her.
That’s because while Michael Pena repeatedly “thrust” at the woman during the chilling, 20-minute attack in an Inwood alley, the off-duty cop couldn’t penetrate her, defense lawyer Ephraim Savitt told jurors.
“There is more to this and less to this than meets the eye,” Savitt said. “This was a terrible crime, an unforgivable crime, but it does not rise to the level of the [rape] charges” against Pena.
Prosecutor Evan Krutoy maintained Pena violated her in every way possible after using his NYPD-issued Glock to force her into an alley on the morning of Aug. 19, 2011 and that DNA evidence, witnesses and the victim’s testimony will prove guilt.
The victim, a 25-year-old teacher, had gone to West 217th Street and Park Terrace West at 6:15 a.m. to get a ride to work from her school’s principal, who had just hired her a week before.
That’s when a drunken Pena — fresh from a trip to a strip club — approached her and asked for directions to the No. 1 train. He asked her to go with him to the station, and when she said no, he pulled out his gun, Krutoy said.
“He sticks a gun in her face and says, ‘Don’t look at my face. Don’t look at my face. I’ll shoot you,’ ” the prosecutor said.
He grabbed her prescription glasses off her face and forced her into an alley near a courtyard, raping her on top of a table, Krutoy said. He warned her that he would blow her head off if she made any noise or looked at him, Krutoy said — and she kept one of her hands over her eyes and one of her hands over her mouth to force herself to comply.
A neighbor saw what was going on and called 911 — and when another witness happened by, Pena told him, “Don’t worry, I’m almost done.”
When police arrived at the scene, Pena, who reeked of booze, was zipping up his pants. One officer said the teacher was cringing up against the wall, still covering her mouth and eyes.
“She was in a state of shock,” one of the responding officers, Lt. William Murray, testified.
And that state of mind is why her account of the attack isn’t reliable, Pena’s lawyer said.
“The young woman was scared to death,” Savitt said. “She was told by the person accosting her he would blow her head off.”
He added that the main eyewitness to the attack was too far away to tell if there was any penetration and the lack of DNA evidence backs up his client’s contention that there was not. Savitt said DNA was only found on the edges of her underwear.
Pena, who’s been suspended from his NYPD job, initially contended the encounter was consensual, court papers say.
He faces up to life in prison if convicted of the top charges against him.