Dancer files civil suit against 2 police officers
She accused the Phila. officers of raping her in a squad car. They face a criminal trial in November.
By Jacqueline Soteropoulos
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer, The (PA); 435 words
A go-go dancer who accused two Philadelphia police officers of taking turns raping her in their squad car last year is suing the city and the men. In the lawsuit, filed June 11 in Common Pleas Court, the 26-year-old woman claims she suffered physical injuries and mental anguish from the Dec. 11 attack, in violation of her civil rights. She is seeking in excess of $50,000.
James Fallon, 33, and Timothy Carre, 29, were fired from the Police Department after their January arrests. They are scheduled to stand trial in November on rape and related charges. Both are free on $11,000 bail.
The woman's attorney, Thomas R. Kline, said the lawsuit "complements and parallels" the criminal charges.
"She has a right - which she's chosen to exercise - to file a civil claim," Kline said. "It is my conviction that a person's rights are not abrogated when they are a witness or a victim in a case."
But defense attorneys for Fallon and Carre are likely to use the lawsuit to closely question the woman's motives and credibility when she testifies in the criminal trial.
"I think the whole thing was about money anyway, from the beginning," said Carre's attorney, Charles P. Mirarchi 3d. "Obviously, when she said she was in it for justice - not money - now, that's no longer true."
Mirarchi said the woman's credibility becomes further suspect in light of her recent arrest in Bucks County.
The woman was arrested at 4:31 a.m. June 23 by Upper Southampton police and charged with stealing $29.25 in change from a Pepsi vending machine.
A witness called police and reported that two men broke into the Pepsi machine in the 900 block of County Line Road, and fled in a red Pontiac Firebird. Police stopped the vehicle, which had two men in the front seat and the woman in the rear seat next to a plastic bag containing a large amount of change, according to the police report.
The woman, charged with theft and conspiracy, is free on $10,000 bail. Her defense attorney could not be reached for comment yesterday.
At a January preliminary hearing for the former officers, the woman testified that Fallon ordered her to get into the back of the patrol car. With Carre driving, she said, they proceeded to a poorly lit, empty lot on Aramingo Avenue, near the Interstate 95 entrance ramp, where both uniformed officers raped her.
The woman said her legs and back were bruised in the attack. At a hospital, investigators collected DNA evidence that later matched Fallon, but not Carre, according to lawyers in the case. A civil suit was filed June 11 in Common Pleas Court, the 26-year-old woman claims she suffered physical injuries and mental anguish from the Dec. 11 attack, in violation of her civil rights. She is seeking in excess of $50,000.
James Fallon, 33, and Timothy Carre, 29, were fired from the Police Department after their January arrests. They are scheduled to stand trial in November on rape and related charges. Both are free on $11,000 bail.
The woman's attorney, Thomas R. Kline, said the lawsuit "complements and parallels" the criminal charges.
"She has a right - which she's chosen to exercise - to file a civil claim," Kline said. "It is my conviction that a person's rights are not abrogated when they are a witness or a victim in a case."
But defense attorneys for Fallon and Carre are likely to use the lawsuit to closely question the woman's motives and credibility when she testifies in the criminal trial.
"I think the whole thing was about money anyway, from the beginning," said Carre's attorney, Charles P. Mirarchi 3d. "Obviously, when she said she was in it for justice - not money - now, that's no longer true."
Mirarchi said the woman's credibility becomes further suspect in light of her recent arrest in Bucks County.
The woman was arrested at 4:31 a.m. June 23 by Upper Southampton police and charged with stealing $29.25 in change from a Pepsi vending machine.
A witness called police and reported that two men broke into the Pepsi machine in the 900 block of County Line Road, and fled in a red Pontiac Firebird. Police stopped the vehicle, which had two men in the front seat and the woman in the rear seat next to a plastic bag containing a large amount of change, according to the police report.
The woman, charged with theft and conspiracy, is free on $10,000 bail. Her defense attorney could not be reached for comment yesterday.
At a January preliminary hearing for the former officers, the woman testified that Fallon ordered her to get into the back of the patrol car. With Carre driving, she said, they proceeded to a poorly lit, empty lot on Aramingo Avenue, near the Interstate 95 entrance ramp, where both uniformed officers raped her.
The woman said her legs and back were bruised in the attack. At a hospital, investigators collected DNA evidence that later matched Fallon, but not Carre, according to lawyers in the case.
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