Greg Kelly Rape Investigation Creates 'Ethical Minefield' For New York District Attorney .New York - Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance J. may face pressure from a tap outside prosecutor to investigate allegations of rape against the son of Police Commissioner of New York because of its deep ties to the police department office, legal experts said Thursday.
The probe began after a woman filed a rape complaint against Greg Kelly, 43, to the police station in Manhattan on Tuesday night or Wednesday morning, according to the New York Times, which broke the news of the investigation Wednesday night.
The alleged sexual assault occurred in October, the woman told police after she and Kelly had drinks together.
Kelly, a local television news anchor and son of Ray Kelly, Commissioner of the NYPD, who maintains his innocence, his lawyer, Andrew M. Lankler. "Mr. Kelly strongly denies any wrongdoing of any kind," said Lankler in an email.
The NYPD has issued a complaint for rape in Vance, because it was filed against the son of the commissioner, a spokesman for the NYPD told news outlets Thursday. Kelly has not been charged with a crime.
As the investigation continues, Vance could face pressure to return the case to an outside prosecutor because of the close working relationship between the District Attorney's Office and the Police Department, according to former prosecutors and defense lawyers.
"There is a precedent for the provision of outside counsel, and I think in this case some people will probably call for it," said Paul Callan, a former prosecutor in New York City criminal defense attorney.
Mark Geragos, a prominent defense lawyer in Los Angeles, said Vance close working relationship with Ray Kelly creates an appearance of conflict of interest. "This is clearly a valid concern," he said.
A spokeswoman for the district attorney's office declined to comment.
But Callan said he expected the office of Vance would resist calls to abandon the case. "Historically prosecutors fight tooth and nail to hang on to these cases to prove that they can be fair," he said.
Holding the Kelly case could be politically perilous for Vance, experts, and review of performance will be extraordinarily high in the wake of continued failed last year to Dominique Strauss-Kahn on charges of sexual assault.
Office responsible Vance Strauss-Kahn, the former head of the International Monetary Fund, with good attack immigrants in May, only to see the collapse case after his accuser repeatedly lied in official statements. Yet despite the damaged credibility of the accuser Strauss-Kahn, many in the city criticized the District Attorney for refusing to put the case to a jury.
Others, meanwhile, questioned Vance ruling by bringing criminal charges against such a high profile defendant before carefully examining applications for his accuser.
The Kelly case will be further complicated by the intimate relationship of work between the office of Vance and the NYPD.
"It is clear that this is an ethical minefield," said Mark Geragos, a prominent defense lawyer in Los Angeles. "He will try to play exactly as he would treat anyone else, but it's just not safe."
Details of the allegations against Greg Kelly still fragmentary, but according to police sources quoted by the New York Times and other news outlets, Kelly had met his accuser, a young woman in her late 20s or early 30s, on the last street in October. The woman reportedly told police that she and Kelly had drinks in a restaurant on the beach, then proceeded to a law firm in Manhattan where she worked.
A police source quoted by the New York Daily News, said the woman reported the rape occurred in the office while she was drunk.
The boyfriend of the woman has learned about the alleged assault and eventually confronted Ray Kelly, Commissioner of the NYPD, during a public demonstration, the NYPD spokesman Paul J. Browne told the New York Daily News. The boyfriend told the commissioner that his son "ruined the lives of my girlfriend," said Browne.
The probe began after a woman filed a rape complaint against Greg Kelly, 43, to the police station in Manhattan on Tuesday night or Wednesday morning, according to the New York Times, which broke the news of the investigation Wednesday night.
The alleged sexual assault occurred in October, the woman told police after she and Kelly had drinks together.
Kelly, a local television news anchor and son of Ray Kelly, Commissioner of the NYPD, who maintains his innocence, his lawyer, Andrew M. Lankler. "Mr. Kelly strongly denies any wrongdoing of any kind," said Lankler in an email.
The NYPD has issued a complaint for rape in Vance, because it was filed against the son of the commissioner, a spokesman for the NYPD told news outlets Thursday. Kelly has not been charged with a crime.
As the investigation continues, Vance could face pressure to return the case to an outside prosecutor because of the close working relationship between the District Attorney's Office and the Police Department, according to former prosecutors and defense lawyers.
"There is a precedent for the provision of outside counsel, and I think in this case some people will probably call for it," said Paul Callan, a former prosecutor in New York City criminal defense attorney.
Mark Geragos, a prominent defense lawyer in Los Angeles, said Vance close working relationship with Ray Kelly creates an appearance of conflict of interest. "This is clearly a valid concern," he said.
A spokeswoman for the district attorney's office declined to comment.
But Callan said he expected the office of Vance would resist calls to abandon the case. "Historically prosecutors fight tooth and nail to hang on to these cases to prove that they can be fair," he said.
Holding the Kelly case could be politically perilous for Vance, experts, and review of performance will be extraordinarily high in the wake of continued failed last year to Dominique Strauss-Kahn on charges of sexual assault.
Office responsible Vance Strauss-Kahn, the former head of the International Monetary Fund, with good attack immigrants in May, only to see the collapse case after his accuser repeatedly lied in official statements. Yet despite the damaged credibility of the accuser Strauss-Kahn, many in the city criticized the District Attorney for refusing to put the case to a jury.
Others, meanwhile, questioned Vance ruling by bringing criminal charges against such a high profile defendant before carefully examining applications for his accuser.
The Kelly case will be further complicated by the intimate relationship of work between the office of Vance and the NYPD.
"It is clear that this is an ethical minefield," said Mark Geragos, a prominent defense lawyer in Los Angeles. "He will try to play exactly as he would treat anyone else, but it's just not safe."
Details of the allegations against Greg Kelly still fragmentary, but according to police sources quoted by the New York Times and other news outlets, Kelly had met his accuser, a young woman in her late 20s or early 30s, on the last street in October. The woman reportedly told police that she and Kelly had drinks in a restaurant on the beach, then proceeded to a law firm in Manhattan where she worked.
A police source quoted by the New York Daily News, said the woman reported the rape occurred in the office while she was drunk.
The boyfriend of the woman has learned about the alleged assault and eventually confronted Ray Kelly, Commissioner of the NYPD, during a public demonstration, the NYPD spokesman Paul J. Browne told the New York Daily News. The boyfriend told the commissioner that his son "ruined the lives of my girlfriend," said Browne.
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