The jury spoke, and so did an angry woman who had accused a cop of raping her in his patrol car in 1994.
After fired cop Kevin Powell, 40, was acquitted yesterday, the 33-year-old woman stormed out of the courtroom, pointing her finger at Powell’s family, shouting, “He’s going to kill somebody next time. Wait till he does this to somebody else.”She broke down in tears as she was led into a rear conference room by police.
“We just didn’t believe her,” said one juror.
Defense attorney Fortunato N. Perri Jr., claimed the whole case was about money the woman hopes to make in a civil suit, and said Powell will seek reinstatement as a cop.
“Her story was false and ludicrous, and didn’t make sense,” Perri said.
“She claimed that Powell raped her while on duty, in full uniform, but then spent the next hour and a half with him, getting out of his car to go to other locations, getting back in, and finally being dropped off at a cousin’s house,” Perri said.
The woman admitted she was a hooker and a junkie, but insisted her accusation was true.
She said Powell told her to get into his patrol car at 29th Street and Ridge Avenue after she told him she didn’t have any identification in the early morning of May 10, 1994.
Powell threatened her with jail, she said, and then backed the car into a lot near 34th Street and Lehigh Avenue and raped her in the back seat.
Perri said that during the night, Powell spoke to other cops while the woman was sitting in his car.
“Powell even dropped her off at a laundry where she had left some things, and she went in, saw a friend, and then got back into the police car,” the lawyer said.
“My client even gave her $3 for carfare, but she used it to get high,” added Perri. “About 20 minutes later, she saw Powell again and got back into his car until he dropped her off.”
Powell had been assigned to the 22nd District at 17th Street and Montgomery Avenue, and had been in the department just short of a year. He did not testify, and had no comment.