2 NYPD cops accused of sexually assaulting drunk woman

THE BRONX, N.Y. (PIX11) — Two NYPD officers are accused of sexually assaulting an intoxicated woman while she was passed out in a stranger’s Bronx apartment last summer, authorities said Wednesday.

Officers Christian Garcia, 31, and Julio Alcantara-Santiago, 39, allegedly assaulted the victim after a night of partying at bar Zar de Cuba in Grand Concourse on July 9, 2023, according to the criminal complaint.

The cops were spotted on surveillance video leaving the restaurant holding up the inebriated woman before getting into a car and being dropped off at a building at 790 Grand Concourse just before 1 a.m., prosecutors said.

“Video surveillance depicts the defendants carrying (the victim) into an apartment inside of that building, as (victim) is being held upright with her eyes closed, mouth open, unable to stand on her own, and constantly falling,” according to court documents.

The woman told investigators she recalled waking up in a stranger’s bedroom while Garcia and Alcantara-Santiago were simultaneously assaulting her, prosecutors said. The victim also heard Garcia say, “Let’s go bro, she’s waking up,” according to the complaint.

The cops’ DNA was found on the victim’s body after she was tested at a local hospital the same morning, authorities said.

Garcia and Alcantara-Santiago were charged with several sexual abuse charges and forcible touching. They pleaded not guilty during their arraignments Tuesday and were released after posting bail, according to court records. Their attorneys could not immediately be reached Wednesday.

The cops have been suspended without pay, police sources said.

Mira Wassef is a digital reporter who has covered news and sports in the New York City area for more than a decade. She joined PIX11 News in 2022. See more of her work here.

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