Cuomo Backs Ban On Sex Between Cops, People They Arrest

ALBANY, NY — A push to ban sex between police officers and people they arrest got support from Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday. Cuomo said he plans to include a provision classifying such sexual encounters as inherently nonconsensual in his state budget legislation.

State law currently says prison inmates cannot legally consent to sex with correction officers or parole officers, but that law doesn't apply explicitly to police officers and people in their custody.

"There must be zero tolerance for sexual abuse and harassment across the board, and especially among those in positions of authority," Cuomo, a Democrat, said in a statement. "This common sense reform closes an egregious loophole and helps protect against abuse in our justice system."

City and state lawmakers have pushed for such a law since a then-18-year-old woman from Brooklyn accused two NYPD cops, Richard Hall and Eddie Martins, of raping her while she was handcuffed in a police van in September.

Hall and Martins are facing criminal charges, but argue the sex was consensual. Legislators and advocates argue the power dynamics between cops and civilians — especially when they're under arrest — preclude real consent in such cases. NYPD policy prohibits having sex on duty but it's not technically illegal.

The state Assembly unanimously passed a bill Feb. 5 that would make it a felony for a cop to have sex with a person who's been detained, arrested or otherwise in police custody. The bill is now under consideration in the state Senate.

"In this particular instance it's something that's so clear that needs to be done that it's not surprising that it passed unanimously," Assemblyman Edward Braunstein (D-Queens) told NY1's Capital Tonight on Monday.

City Councilman Mark Treyger has proposed a local law that would make the same crime a misdemeanor in New York City.

(Lead image: Photo by BravoKiloVideo via Shutterstock)