Two NYPD Detectives Had Sex With a Handcuffed Teenager in Their Custody. They Got Probation.

 

NYPD Detectives Eddie Martins and Richard Hall Had Sex With a Teenager in Their Custody. They Got Probation.

Eddie Martins and Richard Hall were narcotics detectives with the New York City Police Department.

In September 2017, the officers arrested an 18-year-old woman, handcuffed her, and placed her inside the back of their police van.

The woman later reported that the detectives sexually assaulted her while she was in their custody. Martins and Hall acknowledged having sexual contact with her but claimed it was consensual.

They were initially indicted on charges that included rape and kidnapping. Those charges were later dismissed after prosecutors cited evidentiary and credibility issues. They were not convicted of rape, and that distinction matters.

In 2019, both men pleaded guilty to 11 charges, including third-degree felony bribe receiving and multiple counts of official misconduct. Prosecutors said they had accepted sexual acts in exchange for releasing the woman from custody.

Their sentence was five years of probation.

No prison.

The case exposed a disturbing loophole in New York law at the time. State law did not explicitly prohibit police officers from claiming that sexual contact with someone in their custody was consensual.

The outrage surrounding this case helped change that. New York subsequently made it illegal for law enforcement officers to have sex with people in their custody.

She was handcuffed.

She was detained.

They were the cops controlling whether she went free.