Defense for NYPD detectives accused of rape seeks to blame victim

October 30, 2017 By Paul Frangipane Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Detective Eddie Martins is escorted into Brooklyn Supreme Court in handcuffs being indicted on rape and kidnapping charges. Eagle photos by Paul Frangipane

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Defense attorneys for two NYPD detectives charged with raping an 18-year-old woman in Coney Island attacked the credibility of the victim, denying forcible rape at their Brooklyn Supreme Court arraignment Monday.

The since-suspended detectives, Eddie Martins, 37, and Richard Hall, 32, were charged with first-degree rape and kidnapping, among other charges, after they were accused of raping a woman they had in custody on Sept. 15.

Hours before and a door away from the trial of another officer charged with murdering an unarmed man, the two were escorted into a ceremonial courtroom in handcuffs, set free after they made bail.

Assistant District Attorney Frank DeGaetano illustrated the night the two plainclothes Brooklyn South Narcotics officers stopped the woman and two men for drugs, leading to her alleged rape.

The former detectives allegedly left their operation in Coney Island and drove to Calvert Vaux Park in Gravesend. Nearby, they stopped the victim just after 8 p.m. and questioned if she was hiding anything in her bra. They allegedly got her to display her breast before they ordered the three passengers to get out to the back of the car.

They found marijuana and Klonopin pills in the search before allegedly handcuffing the girl and taking her to their police van, telling the other passengers they could pick her up from the 60th Precinct in three hours.

“Detective Martin then removed his penis from his pants,” DeGaetano said.

After Martin allegedly forced her to give him oral sex, he pulled down her pants and “forced his penis into her vagina,” while Hall watched from the rearview mirror, DeGaetano said.

“At this point the complainant was crying and saying no,” the prosecutor said.

When Martin finished, he allegedly ejaculated onto her stomach before Hall got in the back and let Martin drive the van. Hall then allegedly forced her to perform oral sex on him.

“He held her head onto his penis until he ejaculated into her mouth,” DeGaetano said of Hall.

The pair then allegedly let her go back with the two men she was driving with.

She immediately went to Maimonides Hospital, where a rape kit allegedly found the detectives’ DNA on an oral swab.

With the two facing up to 25 years in prison, currently suspended without pay from the force, their defense attorneys battled the allegations in court, calling the charges “schizophrenic.”

“There are things to show that the theories of forcible rape are incorrect,” defense attorney John Arlia yelled at the arraignment.

Arlia referenced charges of bribery in the 50-count indictment and the victim’s social media posts talking about making money, arguing that she had something to gain from the proceedings.

Defense attorney for Martins, Mark Bederow said the case is going to be “vigorously contested,” and he intends to undermine the credibility of the victim.

Acting Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said the defense strategies were “shocking.”

“To think that these are grown men, in a position of power over an 18-year-old girl, for them to go ahead and blame her is ridiculous, it’s demeaning and it speaks to, in my opinion, desperation,” Gonzalez said.

Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun released Martins on $250,000 bail and Hall on $150,000.

After the accusations arose, South Brooklyn Councilmember Mark Treyger began drafting a bill to explicitly make it a crime for police to have sex with persons they stop.

It is against NYPD policy for officers to have sex on duty, but it is not illegal.

The pair is scheduled to appear back in court on Jan. 18, 2018.