Two former NYPD officers accused of sexually abusing an intoxicated woman while off duty in 2023 have been sentenced to probation and sex offender treatment programs as part of a plea agreement, according to the Bronx district attorney's office.
Julio Alcantara-Santiago, 42, pleaded guilty to second-degree sexual abuse in September of last year. He was sentenced last week to six years of probation and was also required to register as a sex offender under the state Sex Offender Registration Act.
Christian Garcia, 34, pleaded guilty to third-degree sexual abuse and was sentenced to one year of probation. Both men are mandated to complete sex offender treatment programs, prosecutors said.
Alcantara-Santiago and Garcia's DNA Matched a DNA Swab Taken from the Women's Breast
Both men were arrested in April 2024 while they were still officers with the NYPD after their DNA was a perfect match to a DNA swab collected from the victim's breast at the time of the incident, Garcia's attorney previously said. The officers were originally charged with sexual abuse, sexual misconduct and forcible touching.
"These two defendants took advantage of a woman who was intoxicated and thus unable to give consent," Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark said in a statement Monday. "They are paying a severe price for their actions. ... They have been held accountable and hopefully the victim can move on with her life."
Both Men Were Captured on Surveillance Cameras Leaving Venue with Victim, Taking Her into an Apartment Building
According to prosecutors, on July 9, 2023, Alcantara-Santiago and Garcia were drinking alcohol with the victim at a Bronx night spot, when she became heavily intoxicated and passed out.
Surveillance video captured the men leaving the venue with the victim, holding her up by her arms, the DA's office said. They were then seen on surveillance video assisting her into an apartment building where Alcantara-Santiago lives, prosecutors said.
Victim Said She Woke Up the Two Men Over Her, Touching Her Inappropriately
According to the victim's impact statement that was read out in court, she was having drinks in the rooftop area of the Zona De Cuba lounge in Grand Concourse and the next thing she recalled was waking up to being sexually assaulted by two men in a stranger's home.
"The next thing I remember is slightly waking up in someone's home. And then what hurts more is that I see two men over me and feel hands in certain parts of my body," she said. "I start to make movement so that the men can stop. I'm terrified and scared that if I say something or if they notice that I'm awake while they're doing certain things, they will harm me or even kill me," she told the courtroom.
She said she continued to lie there and fell asleep, and woke up the next morning, realizing she was still in the strange apartment near the lounge. She escaped the home and went to a local hospital where she was given a rape kit. Medical testing later identified DNA on the victim, which was later matched to Alcantara-Santiago and Garcia.
