Benjamin Carroll

NYPD Commissioner Apologizes Over Mishandled 1994 Rape Case

Police Commissioner James O'Neill says the department let her down "in almost every possible way"

The head of the NYPD is apologizing to a woman who came forward with a rape allegation in 1994 but was discredited by police.

Police Commissioner James O'Neill, in a letter released Sunday, offered the woman his "heartfelt apology for all aspersions cast upon your credibility by NYPD personnel those many years ago." He says the department let her down "in almost every possible way."

The woman reported being raped in Brooklyn's Prospect Park in April 1994. A newspaper columnist at the time wrote that police sources thought she'd made up the attack.

The department disclosed in January that modern DNA analysis methods found a match to a man serving prison time for rape. He denied involvement.

The Associated Press doesn't normally identify victims of sexual assault.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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