Brooklyn Criminal Court sergeant admits to sex abuse in court stairwell

February 7, 2018 By Paul Frangipane Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Former Court Sgt. Timothy Nolan being sentenced to public lewdness in Brooklyn Supreme Court. Eagle photo by Paul Frangipane

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A former Brooklyn Criminal Court sergeant pleaded guilty to public lewdness and was sentenced to one year of conditional discharge on Wednesday after he forced a woman to perform a sex act on him in a court stairwell.

Timothy Nolan, 58, resigned from his position on Tuesday after previously being suspended without pay. He has since lost his pension for the Oct. 21, 2016 act that also slapped him with coercion and official misconduct charges.

Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun sentenced the beet-red Nolan just after he pleaded guilty at his fifth court appearance. Nolan did not make any comments in court.

With 10 years on the job, the disgraced former sergeant approached a mother who was waiting to bail out her boyfriend at the 120 Schermerhorn St. courthouse. He then brought 26-year-old victim Erica McRae into a court stairwell, grabbed her from behind and unzipped his pants, according to court documents.

Nolan reportedly made McRae believe he would either hurt or help her boyfriend’s case depending on what she did for him. He then blocked the door with his back and masturbated in front of her, repeatedly telling her to “spit on it.”

When the stay-at-home mom tried to escape down the stairwell, the victim says he forced her to touch his penis, court documents detailed.

McRae, who has filed a lawsuit against Nolan and the Office of Court Administration, previously said she was scarred from the incident.

“I was scared to go back to court,” she said. “I don’t like to see other officers; I don’t like to be around them.”

She added that she didn’t want this type of thing to happen to anyone else.

“What this demonstrates is whether it’s a suite in a Hollywood hotel or a stairwell in a Brooklyn courthouse, a man does not have the power to sexually coerce a woman,” the victim’s attorney, Sanford Rubenstein said after the sentence.

With the conclusion of the criminal proceedings, the civil suit will now go forward with Rubenstein hoping to present it to a jury.