Another rapist (cop)

[bluecoat28]

February 20, 2008

Girl's description of cop's body backs up rape claim

Jonathan Bandler
The Journal News

The 17-year-old girl who claims she was raped by a New Rochelle police sergeant gave a physical description that authorities confirmed when a search warrant forced him to strip for them, a law enforcement source said yesterday.

City police are continuing their investigation into the girl's allegations that Sgt. David Rodriguez returned to her home and sexually assaulted her early on Feb. 9, hours after he and other officers arrested her 35-year-old boyfriend on a domestic violence complaint.

Rodriguez, a 36-year-old father of three and the husband of Darlene Rodriguez, co-anchor of WNBC-TV's "Today in New York," remains suspended with pay pending the outcome of the investigation.

He has been in the department for nine years and was promoted to sergeant in July.

Rodriguez was interviewed by police and denied the allegations, including that he went back to the girl's home, authorities said.

One of the search warrants executed by police called for him to remove his pants so they could confirm the girl's claim that his genital area was shaved, the source said.

Authorities are still looking for evidence that Rodriguez went back to the house.

They had hoped a Global Positioning System device in his car could trace the route he took after getting off work that night. But the device only saves queries for directions, and authorities said there would have been no reason for him to enter that because he was already familiar with the area as a city police officer.

If authorities are not convinced, or cannot prove, that a rape occurred, they still could pursue an official misconduct charge against Rodriguez if they have evidence that he had sex with the girl after returning to her apartment in his capacity as a police officer.

New Rochelle Police Commissioner Patrick Carroll would not discuss specific details of the investigation, nor would he confirm what search warrants were executed or what Rodriguez told police. He said the investigation would take at least another week.

"This isn't going to happen fast. This is a very sensitive case," he said.

The girl and her boyfriend lived together and have a 6-month-old child.

Police first went there on the morning of Feb. 8 after she accused him of hitting her. The officers arrested him on a charge of third-degree assault. But he posted $350 bail and, despite an order of protection issued that morning, returned to the house.

The couple had another argument that evening, and the girl again called police.

Rodriguez was a supervisor on the 4 p.m.-to-midnight shift and went to the home with three other officers.

The boyfriend, who was carrying the court order in his pocket, was taken into custody again and charged with criminal contempt. He was held that night in the Westchester County jail in Valhalla with bail set at $2,500.

The girl did not immediately report that she was raped and did not bring it up when she tried to get the charges against her boyfriend dropped.

After the weekend, she went to the district attorney's office at New Rochelle City Court, where she was referred to the Domestic Violence Bureau. There, she told an adviser that she relies on her boyfriend for support and he was the father of her child and she wanted him home.

She also mentioned that she did not want the officer to come back.

When questioned about what she meant, she said one of the arresting officers had returned and forced her to have sex, authorities said. She did not know his name and said she never met him before that night. Authorities determined she was talking about Rodriguez based on a general description.

Rodriguez could not be reached for comment yesterday. Geoffrey Orlando, a lawyer hired yesterday to represent the sergeant during the investigation, declined to discuss the case.

The boyfriend was released from jail over the weekend after posting bail, but he is still prohibited from having any contact with the girl. His case has been transferred to the county's domestic violence court in White Plains.

[MaggieH]

Terrible story. It's awful that (as usual) some people believe that the victim is lying.