Rape Cop Caught on Tape

'SORRY' COP ON RAPE TAPE
EXCLUSIVE -The New York Post by BRAD HAMILTON and REUVEN BLAU - March 15, 2009

The on-duty cop accused of raping a drunken executive apologized for forcing himself on her, according to a secret tape-recording the woman made shortly after the alleged assault, police sources said. Investigators wired the brown-haired beauty and asked her to meet with Ninth Precinct patrolman Kenneth Moreno following the alleged attack on Dec. 7, Internal Affairs sources told The Post. The plucky victim agreed and got the cop on audio tape. Moreno apologized and conceded that the victim was very drunk on the night of the incident, according to multiple sources familiar with the recording. Under law, an incapacitated person is not legally considered able to give consent to sex. Meanwhile, prosecutors appear to be reluctant to offer a deal to Moreno's partner, Franklin Mata, who allegedly stood by while Moreno had sex with the woman. Mata offered to testify against Moreno after initially claiming the sex was consensual, but investigators have been working to tighten the case against Mata and are now leaning toward charging him as well, sources said. The woman's accusation is being probed by Internal Affairs and the Manhattan DA's Office Sex Crimes Unit.

Prosecutors expect to present their case to a grand jury in April. Internal Affairs detectives have reconstructed the woman's every move before and after the alleged assault. She and a group of female execs began drinking heavily at the music venue Southpaw in the Park Slope section of Brooklyn sometime between 10 p.m. and midnight on Dec. 6. Staff members at the club said detectives turned up the next day and showed around a photograph of a woman in her late 20s. "She had brown hair and she was very pretty," said one of the club's owners. "Unfortunately, none of our staff could remember her. There were 400 people here that night." The club has no surveillance cameras, and the woman's name did not appear on a guest list or credit-card receipts. By 12:30 a.m., the victim had become intoxicated, and pals put her in a cab. When the cabby arrived at her East Village home, he called 911 and Moreno and Mata responded. They helped her up to the apartment and, according to the woman and security video at the building, left and came back. When they returned a second time, they attempted to shield their faces from one of the cameras. That's when Moreno sexually assaulted the woman, she claims. brad.hamilton@nypost.com