The prosecutors call it a bruise; the defense calls it a “minor blemish.”
Either way, a small area of redness on the alleged victim’s cervix — the only forensic evidence suggesting a sex assault in the ongoing “rape cops” trial — was contested for hours yesterday.
Forensic examiner Karen Carroll testified that the look and location of the redness is consistent with the victim’s claims of waking on her bed, face-down, from a drunken stupor in 2008 to find Kenneth Moreno allegedly attacking her from behind.
But lawyers for Moreno and his alleged partner lookout — Officer Franklin Mata — tried to suggest alternate explanations for the “blemish.”
Carroll dismissed as implausible suggestions it stemmed from a venereal disease, bacterial imbalance or a clumsy ER exam. Carroll was particularly skeptical when Moreno lawyer Chad Seigel asked if the woman might have injured herself during vigorous shower scrubbing.