The three New York City police officers accused of sodomizing a suspect during an arrest have been formally charged with 32 criminal counts, and two of the officers are charged with felonies.
Officers Richard Kern, Alex Cruz and Andrew Morales turned themselves into prosecutors in Brooklyn early Tuesday. They were indicted last week by a grand jury investigating the shocking allegations, according to a law enforcement official who declined to detail the charges.
The top charge is against Kern, who is accused of aggravated sexual assault in the First degree. That charge carries a penalty of up to 25 years in prison.
The officers also face charges including falsifying business records and official misconduct.
Another law enforcement official said the grand jury had been presented incriminating forensic evidence collected by investigators. That evidence, combined with a witness account, pointed to Kern as the main assailant, the official said.
Defense attorneys said the officers didn't do anything wrong.
"We don't know what the people's proof is, but as far as I'm concerned my client is not guilty," said Kern's attorney, John Patten.
Said Cruz's lawyer, Stuart London, "He never observed any misconduct nor engaged in any misconduct."
The accused officers approached Michael Mineo on Oct. 15 outside a subway station because they believed he was smoking marijuana, police said. When he fled into the station, they and two other uniformed officers wrestled him to the ground face down and handcuffed him.
Mineo, a 24-year-old body piercer, claimed that during the struggle his pants were pulled down and one of the officers sodomized him as he screamed out in pain. He said he believed he was violated with the antenna of a handheld radio and that the assailant was Cruz.
But a transit officer called as a grand jury witness early last month testified that he saw Kern wield a baton and put it near Mineo's buttocks, according to one of the law enforcement officials. The transit officer was among those who helped subdue Mineo, but he has not been charged.
After Mineo was given a ticket for disorderly conduct and released, he was hospitalized for several days. Hospital discharge papers show that upon arrival he was diagnosed with "anal assault."
The district attorney's office launched the grand jury investigation in late October when the allegations came to light. The officers were placed on desk duty pending the outcome of the case.
