In court today a Community Affairs cop faced the first of four sex-related charges. In 2002 the Officer Wilfredo Rosario fined a woman for trespassing in Riverside Park after dark. But he offered her a deal: he said he'd rip up the ticket in exchange for a sexual favor, telling her "This is between us." It wasn't the last lewd request he would made while on duty. The victim, then just 18-years old told her story in detail.
"He was very casual and nonchalant," said the now 26-year-old. "I was in shock." The NY Post reported that she was able to deflect his attentions by commenting on the pins and buttons on his uniform and telling him she'd take a rain check on the offer. The big-bellied cop wrote his nickname, Buddha (which he misspelled Buddah), on a slip of paper, key evidence in the court case. Still, according to the AP report, Rosario's lawyers say he wrote her a ticket and that's it.
The Upper East Side woman who took the stand today reported the policeman days after the incident, but investigators didn't follow up until three other victims came forward. The accused Bronx man, who's been on the force for a decade, will be tried separately for a 2003 rape accusation and sex abuse accusations in 2004 and 2008.
