To Protect and serve/Officers rape an intoxicated woman

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Two police officers rape an intoxicated woman

The woman accusing two New York City police officers of rape is expected to take the stand Monday as the prosecution's central witness. It will be her first public appearance since the alleged December 2008 assault.

The woman, who has remained unnamed by the media, will offer her own account of the night she got so drunk, officers Kenneth Moreno and Franklin Mata had to help into her East Village apartment.

Moreno has been accused of raping her as Mata acted as lookout. Defense lawyers say Moreno never had sex with her but did "succumb to physical contact" during one of four visits to her apartment that night. They say Moreno was a former alcoholic, and counseled the woman about her own drinking problem.

The trial is now entering its second week of testimony. Friends close to the alleged victim have testified about how intoxicated she was the night of Dec. 6, 2008, at the club Southpaw in Park Slope, Brooklyn. She had been celebrating her promotion at The Gap, where she was a fabric designer.

A cab driver who drove her home testified that she vomited twice during the ride, and he called 911 for police assistance to help her out of the car.

Defense lawyers say evidence shows the alleged victim was still coherent and capable of having lucid conversations. But the prosecution alleges she was too drunk to give any consent to sexual contact.

In addition to rape, the officers are accused of falsifying records and burglary.