NYPD Apologizes To Prospect Park Rape Victim 24 Years Later

PROSPECT PARK, BROOKLYN — Police commissioner James O’Neill has apologized to the victim of a 1994 Prospect Park rape who later became the target of smear campaign by Daily News columnist Mike McAlary.

“There is zero justification for the additional trauma she endured when her word was doubted by authorities investigating her claim," O'Neill wrote in the apology, which was posted to NYC. gov on Sunday.

"She had the courage and strength to report a heinous crime, to push our detectives to conduct a full and thorough investigation, and to try to help apprehend her attacker and protect other women. But we let her down in almost every possible way."

O'Neill did not name McAlary in his apology, but referenced a "writer for a major New York City daily newspaper who “predicted in print that she would soon be arrested for filing a false report.”

McAlary, the columnist portrayed by Tom Hanks in Nora Ephron's play "Lucky Guy," famously covered the case with a column entitled, “Rape hoax the real crime.”

The Daily News told his readers the victim lied to promote protests against anti-lesbian violence and cited anonymous police officials as his sources.

"I am deeply saddened by the rift this case created between law enforcement, brave survivors of sexual assault, and the LGBTQ community," O'Neill stated. “We were wrong then. I want us to be right today.”

The anonymous woman first made headlines in April 1994 when she reported she'd been raped in the bushes of Prospect Park, provided a description and DNA evidence and waited for an arrest.

NYPD spokesman John Miller was one of several NYPD official to discredit the woman, telling reporters there was no physical evidence and her story had inconsistencies, the New York Post reported.

The case was only solved 24 years later when the police's Cold Case Squad linked the DNA evidence to James Edward Webb. Webb had been behind bars since 1998 for another rape in Fort Greene, and for raping six women in the 1970s.

"To the survivor: As Police Commissioner, I extend my heartfelt apology for all aspersions cast upon your credibility by NYPD personnel those many years ago," said O'Neill.

"We fell short in an important area: Simple humanity."

Read the entire letter here.

Photo caption: New York City Police Commissioner James O'Neill speaks during a press conference on November 3, 2017 in New York City. Photo by Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images