2 NYPD officers arrested for sexually assaulting woman who was incapacitated: Bronx DA

Published Apr 24, 2024 at 12:17 p.m. ET

Share

 

Published Apr 24, 2024 at 12:17 p.m. ET

Share

Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2024. Donate today

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

The NYPD announced it had arrested two of its own officers this week on charges that they sexually assaulted a woman last summer.

Police said they arrested Julio Alcantara-Santiago, 40, and Christian Garcia, 32, around 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday in the Bronx, while they were off duty. NYPD officials said the two officers forcibly engaged in sex last July with a woman who was legally incapable of consent because she was “physically helpless or mentally incapacitated” at the time.

The department has temporarily suspended both officers, according to officials. Garcia has denied the allegations through his attorney. Alcantara-Santiago’s attorney did not immediately respond to an inquiry.

The officers are being charged with sexual abuse, sexual misconduct and forcible touching. They were arraigned in Bronx Criminal Court on Tuesday, with the judge setting bail for Alcantara-Santiago at $50,000 cash or a $75,000 partially secured bond and for Garcia at $30,000 cash or a $70,000 partially secured bond, according to Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark's office. Both are set to return to court on Friday morning.

Garcia’s attorney Peter Brill said his client and Alcantara-Santiago used to be partners on the beat. Both officers went to a club last July with Alcantara-Santiago’s girlfriend and her friend, Brill said. The identities of the women have not been publicly disclosed.

That night, the friend became drunk to the point that she couldn’t walk, and the group took her back to an apartment, according to Brill. She woke up the next morning unaware of where she was, stepped outside the apartment and found she was on Grand Concourse near Lincoln Hospital, where she ultimately filed a report of sexual abuse, he said.

Brill said that after a nearly yearlong process involving the Bronx DA, the NYPD’s internal affairs bureau and the city’s largest police union, both officers submitted mouth swabs that matched their DNA with a swab from the woman’s breast — prompting their arrest on Tuesday.

The woman had no memory of leaving the club, Zona de Cuba, according to court records. Surveillance footage from around 1 a.m. that night shows Garcia and Alcantara-Santiago leaving the club holding the woman up by her arms as she repeatedly falls and cannot stand or walk on her own, the records said.

She was “being held upright with her eyes closed, mouth open, unable to stand on her own, and constantly falling” as the officers carried her into the apartment, per the records.

“Stick it in, bro, she’s clean,” Alcantara-Santiago said as the two officers sexually assaulted the woman, according to a criminal complaint by the Bronx DA’s office.

“Nah, bro, she’s too out of it,” Garcia allegedly replied. The complaint states that after Alcantara-Santiago engaged in another sex act, Garcia said, “Let’s go, bro, she’s waking up.”

Brill, Garcia’s attorney, said in a phone call that his client “has never been in trouble in his life.”

“He completely denies mistreating this young lady in any way,” he said. “He is completely denying these charges.”

Garcia, a lifelong Bronx resident, earned $129,000 last year, according to city records. Recent salary information for Alcantara-Santiago was not immediately available, though records show he joined the NYPD 11 years ago and was most recently assigned to cover the Manhattan court section. He also received a departmental award for excellence in 2015.

Tagged

Bahar Ostadan covers the NYPD and public safety. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or message Bahar on Signal at 646-740-7335.

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

MORE news

City Council members questioned the Department of Correction’s "convoluted" process for investigating sexual assault claims by detainees.

Published Apr 24, 2024 at 6:35 p.m. ET

The mayor has restored some of his unpopular cuts but is resisting calls to fully fund libraries and seven-day service at over 200 branches.

The mayor has restored some of his unpopular cuts but is resisting calls to fully fund libraries and seven-day service at over 200 branches.

Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.

Gothamist is a website about New York City news, arts, events and food, brought to you by New York Public Radio.