An off-duty cop was charged with rape in an early morning sex assault in Inwood, sources said today.
Michael Pena, 27, was charged in the 6:45 a.m. incident, which happened near the intersection of Park Terrace West and West 217th Street, just south of Baker Field.
Pena, drunk, encountered the 25-year-old woman, a Bronx school teacher, on the street and asked her directions for the No. 1 train, said police sources.
She smelled booze on Pena’s breath as the officer put his arm around her.
Then, according to sources, Pena opened up his jacket to show he was carrying a gun on his hip, and said, “You’re coming with me.”
The officer took the woman to the courtyard of a residential building, where two witnesses saw the assault take place.
According to a neighbor’s second-hand account, one of the witnesses, a man, confronted Pena, who said:
“I’m almost done. I’m almost finished. We’ll be out of here soon.”
The witness called 911, and police soon arrived. “They apparently caught the guy in the act,” the neighbor said.
Cops busted Pena at the scene. He was carrying his badge and ID. They found the gun on the ground nearby.
Pena is assigned to the 33rd Precinct. He’d completed an overnight shift when the incident took place.
The case is being investigated by the NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau and Special Victims Squad.
The victim was treated at a neighborhood hospital. Police are still at the scene this afternoon.