New York 'Rape Cop' who was cleared of sexual assault sues woman who accused him and the city for $175MILLION over arrest and nine months jail time

Former NY cop Kenneth Moreno, 46, was cleared in 2011 of raping a drunk woman while on duty in 2008



However he was convicted of misconduct for returning to her apartment three times that night



He spent nine months in jail on the misconduct charges



Now he is suing to recover monetary damages and restore his reputation

He works as a contractor and doesn't want to be known as the 'Rape Cop'



A former New York police officer dubbed the 'Rape Cop' during his sensational trial is suing his accuser and the city for $175 million.

Kenneth Moreno was cleared in 2011 of the on-duty rape of a drunk fashion executive in her apartment in December 2008, but spent nine months in jail for official misconduct.



Now the 46-year-old, who works as a building contractor after being kicked out of the police force, wants his 'opportunist' accuser to pay up.



In his false arrest lawsuit, the Brooklyn resident claims the woman falsely accused him of rape, leading Manhattan prosecutors to build a case against him despite a lack of forensic evidence, according to New York Daily News.



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Jail time: Former NYPD cop Kenneth Moreno (left) was convicted of official misconduct but acquitted of raping a woman in 2008. He is pictured at his sentencing with attorney Chad Seigel at the State Supreme court on August 8, 2011, in New York

Moreno said the false claims have cost him work opportunities and ruined his life.



'There were some carpenters (at work) one day and one of them asked me if I was the ‘rape cop',' he told Daily News.

'They asked me to leave so I lost a job that day. I don’t want to be known as the ‘rape cop'. It’s horrible.'

He also said that his jail time took a toll: 'I tried to get through (jail) a day at a time but there was always the presence of danger and animosity.'

In his suit, Moreno also accuses the woman, now 32 and living in San Francisco, and civil attorney Yasmin Saeed of maliciously filing a $57 million lawsuit 'to extort monies' from him and the city.



A federal judge tossed out their suit last year, ruling there was no evidence backing her claims. The appeal was also shot down. Saeed declined to comment to Daily News.

Litigation: Kenneth Moreno (pictured in 2011) is suing NYC and the woman who accused him of rape for $175 million in a bid to restore his reputation

In 2008, Moreno was accused of raping a drunk woman while he was on duty.



According to court documents, Moreno and his patrol partner, Franklin Mata, helped her out of a taxi outside her East 13th Street apartment on December 7.



Mata was accused of keeping a lookout while Moreno raped the woman as she lay face-down and dazed on her bed.



The pair took the woman's keys and returned to her apartment three more times while still on duty, New York Times reported.

The woman told authorities she passed out and awoke to being raped in her bed, saying she acutely remembered being assaulted despite being unclear during significant parts of the night.

She said she secretly recorded a conversation days later in which Moreno alternately denied they had sex but said 'yes' twice when she asked whether he had used a condom.



However Moreno said the woman asked them to return and that Moreno was counseling her about her drinking.



In their two-month trial in 2011, Moreno testified that he flirted and cuddled in her bed while Mata slept on the couch.

Charged: Kenneth Moreno's partner, Franklin Mata (pictured) was sentenced to two months jail after being convicted of official misconduct for repeatedly visiting the woman's apartment while he was on duty

He maintains he rebuffed the woman's advances but admitted he placed a phony 911 call about a sleeping vagrant to provide an excuse for one of the visits.

Mata and Moreno were cleared of rape and burglary charges, however they were convicted of misconduct for returning to the woman's apartment.



They were fired from the police force within hours of their convictions.



Moreno served nine months of a one-year prison sentence, while Mata spent two months behind bars.



The rape acquittal caused outrage. Women's groups protested the verdict, while some newspaper columnists questioned how it was possible to acquit the two men given the evidence.



The woman said that after the verdict, her 'world was turned upside-down by the actions of two police officers who were sent there to protect but instead took advantage of their authority and broke the law.'











