Judge Reinstates First-Degree Rape Charges Against 5 Men
A judge has agreed to reinstate first-degree rape charges against five men who were fined $750 after they had sex with a woman they found unconscious in a restaurant bathroom.
Acting state Supreme Court Justice Eugene L. Nicandri issued his decision Tuesday, clearing the way for a possible trial for the men.
“This is a victory for all victims,” Krista Absalon said. “There is justice in the world after all. It shows if you work hard enough and cry loud enough, someone will hear you.”
In October, 1991, Absalon passed out while drunk in a restaurant in Gouverneur, about 20 miles south of the Canadian border. She learned a week later that five men dragged her from a restroom and took turns having sex with her while she was unconscious.
The men--Mariano Pistolesi, David Cummings, Michael Curcio, Mark Hartle and George Streeter--were charged with felony rape and faced up to 25 years in prison. They pleaded guilty to misdemeanor sexual misconduct and were fined $750, with no jail time.
The plea bargain set off such an uproar that Gov. Mario M. Cuomo appointed state Atty. Gen. G. Oliver Koppell as special prosecutor, and Koppell sought to have the rape charges reinstated. He argued that the original indictment was illegally dismissed.
Absalon went public after the plea agreement.
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