Sex Abuse Case Opens Against Former Philadelphia Cop
By Tony Hanson
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A federal jury today heard opening statements and the alledged victim's testimony in a sordid case of alleged misconduct and civil rights violations by two Philadelphia police officers.
The alleged victim, now 26 and an admitted drug addict at the time, says she was using drugs in an abandoned house in 2009 when the defendant, Officer Joseph Harvey, got her alone in a bedroom, ordered her to strip, and then performed a lewd act on himself (see previous story).
The witness, emotional at times on the stand, says she came forward reluctantly, but she did come forward right away.
Authorities say they have DNA, but defense attorney James Funt told the jury the act was consensual. He acknowledges it was "gross" and violated Officer Harvey's marriage oath to this wife, but says Harvey did not violate any law.
Funt has also attacked the alleged victim's credibility, emphasizing inconsistencies in her many statements to authorities and her testimony here.
A second officer, Sean Cahill, is accused of lying to investigators about the case.
