2 NYPD Cops Accused of Sexually Assaulting Handcuffed 18-Year-Old in Police Van Resign
The narcotics detectives had previously been suspended without pay.
Two NYPD officers who have been accused of raping an 18-year-old inside a police van while on duty in September resigned Monday, police said.
The officers, Eddie Martins, 37, and Richard Hall, 33, were arraigned last week on numerous charges, including first-degree rape and second-degree kidnapping, according to the Kings County District Attorney's Office.
"When a member of the NYPD is indicted on serious charges like these, it tarnishes all of the admirable things accomplished by other, good officers every day in neighborhoods across New York City," NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill said
Martins and Hall, who were narcotics detectives, were initially suspended without pay.
"Had these charges been upheld in an upcoming departmental trial, I would have fired them immediately," O'Neill said in a statement Monday.
The 18-year-old’s attorney, Michael David, previously told InsideEdition.com that his client was driving in Calvert Vaux Park in Coney Island on Sept. 15 with two friends when the two plainclothes detectives in a black van pulled them over.
David said one of the friends had some pills on him and a prescription, but detectives allegedly told them to leave, reports said.
Officers then reportedly took the 18-year-old in a police van to a nearby Chipotle parking lot and allegedly forced her to perform a sex act on both of them. Martins then allegedly raped the teen while she was handcuffed as Hall allegedly watched.
The officers then dropped the girl off blocks away from the 60th precinct, reports said. The teen reported the incident to police.
Both detectives previously claimed the sex was consensual after the allegations surfaced, CBS reported.
"She’s being brutalized twice here. First they rape her, she’s kidnapped, she’s raped and she’s thrown into the street, then they go ahead and victimize her again by saying it was consensual,” David said. "She wants their conviction. She wants them in jail."
David added: "She's not going to feel safe until they're behind bars."
Both officers have pleaded not guilty to all charges, reports said.
Martins was released on $250,000 bail and Hall was released on $150,000 bail.
An attorney for Martins, Mark Bederow, told CNN that his client's resignation "has no impact on how we will prepare to defend the case."
"It's true that [Martins] resigned today, but we're going to be focusing all of our efforts on confronting the indictment in Brooklyn and spending all of our time demonstrating that the charges against him are absolutely false," Bederow said.
Hall's attorney has also reportedly claimed that the 18-year-old's account is not credible.
The teen went to a local hospital for a sexual assault exam after the alleged rape. DNA found on the teen matched both detectives, according to reports.