Kenneth Moreno, Franklin Mata Acquitted Due To Lack Of Forensic Evidence: Jurors

Why were jurors in the trial of two NYPD officers accused of rape not convinced, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the defendants were guilty?

Legal experts tell DNA Info that lack of forensic evidence meant the case depended on the eyewitness account of an intoxicated woman.

From DNA Info:

In the trial of former cops Kenneth Moreno and Franklin Mata, who were found not guilty Thursday of raping a 27-year-old drunk woman in her East Village apartment, no semen or other physical evidence from them was recovered in her home or on her body. That forced the jury — a panel of seven men and five women — to decide whether to believe the woman as to what happened on Dec. 7, 2008.

With their verdict, the jury said her powerful and graphic testimony alone was not enough to convict Moreno, 43, and Mata, 29.

"The bottom line is over the last 10 years, peoples' expectations of a prosecutor is to always have some sort of scientific evidence," said defense attorney Arthur Aidala.

This sentiment is supported by statements from some of the jurors. Daily Intel has a helpful round up of some of the most illuminating comments.

"It came down to he said/she said," said juror Eric Casiano, 33, a security officer. "There were holes in his and her stories. The law says if you're not sure, if there is reasonable doubt, you have to say not guilty."

At least one juror also found the woman's testimony shaky.

"When her testimony was read back without her in the mix, it was much easier for us to see what she said,” Richard Schimenti said. “And it sounded like a construct from the prosecution."

WATCH East Villagers react to the verdict:

Comments

[duncansdad]

07:09 PM on 05/30/2011

NYC police cannot be trusted. They are far more concerned with covering each others backs than anything else. They don't call it the blue wall of silence for nothing.

[larryvnyrd]

04:42 PM on 05/28/2011

The bottom line is Cops get away with a lot, and they will all cover each other's butts better than the Mafia guys ever did. Some are good, some are bad. It's just that 95% of them make the rest look bad.

[roydoe]

10:29 AM on 05/28/2011

A tragedy of justice.

[brooklyncitizen]

03:40 AM on 05/28/2011

Just as a citizen I have to say that encounters with police have not been positive. From being harassed at a subway station to open a knapsack when I was only purchasing a metro card to take a bus outside to being threatened with a ticket for crossing at the middle of the block rather than the intersection that was blocked by snow and ice they are total thugs.

We all know they behave with impunity because they have been allowed to exist above the law and when in trouble the mayor and his commissioner circle around NYPD in their defense. THis is why folks don't call the police.

[VonnegutReader]

12:26 AM on 05/28/2011

Found an article from when this story first broke in 2009 that killed me to read. Mata was willing to make a plea deal that Moreno did rape this woman:

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/regional/item_UtnH2DN...

How are juries supposed to be able to make good decisions when so much information is held back (I know this from my own experience on jury duty). This is a total travesty. Now I see why Commissioner Kelly acted so quickly. Will someone please bring these details to light again so people will stop calling this innocent woman a gold digger.

[Aranxa]

09:09 AM on 05/29/2011

She's definitely not a gold digger, and I hope she takes them to the cleaners.

[Owlwriter16]

09:55 PM on 05/27/2011

The lack of forensic evidence points to a veteran cop knowing how to give a crime scene a clean sweep and destroying any potential evidence. Trip one to her apt gave them access; seeing how vulnerable she was, they held onto her house keys and came back a second time to take advantage of her. The third trip was to make double sure there was no evidence that would give any eventual accusations credibility. Unfortunately they weren't convicted but lets hope all of the negative press and outrage over the verdict will make their colleagues have second thoughts if they find themselves in a position to take advantage of another halpless victim.

I hate to sound like blaming the victim but why did her friends let her leave the party in such condition? Did she hail that cab on her own?

[adamben]

09:13 AM on 05/29/2011

well, that is a big problem with people coming to the city, or just growing up. women/girls should never let their guard down. ever. getting drunk in public and then going home by yourself? big no no's. trusting a stranger, even a cop? never, ever trust anyone, to be safe. stranger danger; regretfully, that warning must be practiced your whole life, including into your 90's. i guess that should be a psa and not just anti-smoking ads.

second thoughts? i hope so, but if that were the case crime would be way down.

[peachpage01]

05:59 PM on 05/27/2011

New York's finest are tarnishing those that wear their badges with respect and pride, without breaking the very laws they serve to uphold. Shameful for them to go back to this woman's apartment repeatedly, as was caught on security camera. I guess Fox will be giving them them their own reality show by the summer....that about sums up American TV.

[adamben]

09:14 AM on 05/29/2011

if bush was still president they would get the medal of freedom award, like tenet, rummy, cheney and their ilk.

[JDHARTIL]

02:40 PM on 05/27/2011

I only know what I read in the press and that would have me inclining to a guilty verdict but having once sat on the jury at a murder trial here in the UK what you hear and actually see in court is something different. I know I certainly changed my mind as I listened to the evidence and witness responses

[UnknownSolider]

04:48 PM on 05/27/2011

you are 100% correct, the media in America can't be trusted to report anything accurately. Trials always come down to how the evidence is presented...........

[eskatyt]

10:19 PM on 05/27/2011

Actually, sometimes, the people who read about cases in the media hear more real evidence than the juries do. You never know what will be deemed inadmissible at trial. Sometimes juries hear a very watered down version of the crime, and this can explain verdicts that appear to be very, very wrong.

But, in this case, as I read what the jurors said, it seems to me that the jurors didn't believe what anyone said, and so they erred on the side of acquittal. They just didn't seem to trust witness testimony.

They were expecting "CSI", but got "Perry Mason"...and that wasn't good enough for them.

[WasteNJ]

02:27 PM on 05/27/2011

Never trust the cops, it will not be all right if they turn out to be thugs. The system will not take care of you. You will not win in court, you will end up worse off than before even tying to pursue it. Never put yourself in a position where you need them for anything if at all possible, including being too wasted to get home.

Thus endeth the sermon.

[Atomizer]

11:03 PM on 05/27/2011

Well said.

[WasteNJ]

08:44 AM on 05/31/2011

Thx. Seems common sense to me.

[brooklyncitizen]

03:41 AM on 05/28/2011

Amen.

[Nicole Schulman]

02:04 PM on 05/27/2011

TODAY Protest the Rapist Cops Acquittal:

Friday, May 27 · 5:00pm - 7:00pm
100 Centre St New York NY

Next time it could be you or someone you care about.

[farleft1917]

01:41 PM on 05/27/2011

I find this case disturbing. They entered her home on a pretense, they lied...and I read there was a the evidence about the use of condom.

Even if you take the rape out of the mix, something truly vile happened..why were they in her home..without a female officer?...and they should face some jail time for breaking our trust and of course the victim.

Of course i have not heard the same evidence as the Jury. I'd be loathed to convict cops too but something does not smell right here.

NYPD is not the worst force but nor are they remotely the best. Time we had a new Mayor and police chief.

[Rosalee Harris]

01:07 PM on 05/27/2011

Even if they didnt rape her its just disturbing on other levels and makes you think twice about trusting police officers. Its things like this that breeds mistrust between police and the community. I'm glad their azzes were fired thats at least something to be proud of.

[Max Shaw]

01:51 PM on 05/27/2011

I have to agree with you. These officers had no reason to continually go back, get in her bed with her and take turns looking out for other people. It was very unprofessional--completely actually. I think that they saw an oppurtunity and tried to take advantage of her. I cant believe they were acquitted..

[mariusvinchi]

12:40 PM on 05/27/2011

Therein lies the problem with today's juries....
Television has conditioned them to expect magical scientific proof of guilt.
I had to take a Forensic Sciences course as a continuing education credit. The first day of classes, the professor asked "who watches CSI type procedurals?" He then told all of those with raised hands to forget EVERYTHING they've ever seen on a show. It's all crap.
More so when your dealing with a sophisticated criminal. Cops would qualify as "sophisticated" criminals.

[time2impeach]

01:17 PM on 05/27/2011

I respectfully suggest you are reacting based upon a bias rather than upon the facts.

I have to admit that I, too, assumed the cops were guilty initially, especially with the taped conversation.

However, the lack of ANY forensic evidence (semen, hair, etc.) coupled with the fact that the accuser was, by her own admission, tremendously intoxicated (to the point of loosing consciousness,) makes the "reasonable doubt" loom very large.

There are other plausible explanations, and unfortunately nothing that corroborates the accusers account. To that end, I have to accept the jury's conclusion, as that is the system that we have established.

[Montcalms Revenge]

01:37 PM on 05/27/2011

The media coverage of this case in NYC didn't help matters. It was pretty much presented as a "slam-dunk" for prosecutors. The taped conversation\confession was highlighted while the lack of physical evidence was downplayed. I think that explains the "shocked" reaction many NYers had to the verdict. Closer inspection would have revealed that the case was shaky--- relying heavily on the testimony of a woman, who by her own admission, couldn't remember most of the events of that evening. I was hoping at least a couple of jurors would hold out for a guilty verdict... but the truth is even a hung jury\mistrial wouldn't have mattered. A retrial probably would have produced the same result. Not enough evidence--- strong reasonable doubt...

[mariusvinchi]

01:46 PM on 05/27/2011

Thank you for a respectful rebuttal, but I also respectfully disagree, and I think you missed my central point.

1) Until I actually sat on a jury hearing a capital murder case, I would've agreed with you. My opinion is based on that experience. During juror deliberations, my fellow jurors were....concerned about the lack of forensic evidence and more than once referenced a certain show and how they were able to figure it out. The impression some of them had, was that the police simply didn't turn it over for trial because it was potentially exculpatory, though no evidence of that was presented, nor did the defense raise such an issue...

2) As an ER Physician I deal with rape trauma on a regular basis and in almost every case, the emotional trauma far exceeds the physical trauma. Rape kits are done on every rape victim unless they refuse, and many times, we are unable to recover usable evidence. Sometimes because of cross contamination; sometimes because the victims themselves destroyed any evidence, and sometimes the rapist is smart. One constant with virtually all rape victims is memory. Intoxicated or sober, the trauma effects memory.
Just because she was intoxicated and slipping in and out of consciousness doesn't mean she saw pink elephants. In support of that was the medical report and rape kit that clearly illustrated vaginal abrasions consistent with forcible intercourse...

[Montcalms Revenge]

11:53 AM on 05/27/2011

I think the prosecutors knew that without physical evidence that their case was weak. It explains why they sent her wearing a wire to confront Moreno and to try and get him to confess on tape. Unfortunately it didn't work...

[UnknownSolider]

04:59 PM on 05/27/2011

Maybe the police didn't collect the evidence they should have in the case...... we will never know...... the blue wall of silence is deafening at times