Exactly two weeks after she went to the police, the district attorney's sex crimes unit decided her story is not believable and Tuesday night dropped the rape charges against 43-year-old Greg Kelly, a local news anchor on WNYC-TV and the son of NYC Police Commissioner Ray Kelly.
The woman told police she met Kelly for drinks on Oct. 8, they went to her lower Manhattan law office and he assaulted her while she wasn't capable of consenting to sex, a person familiar with the investigation has said. The woman and Kelly stayed in contact afterward, the person said.
The woman said she became pregnant from the encounter and had an abortion, according to a law enforcement official. Neither the person familiar with the investigation nor the official was authorized to speak publicly. They talked to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity.
The woman's boyfriend confronted the police commissioner in person at a public event, saying Greg Kelly had ruined his girlfriend's life but declining to elaborate on the spot when asked what he meant, police spokesman Paul Browne said. The commissioner suggested the boyfriend send him a letter, but the man apparently never did, Browne said.
The high profile case made headlines but there were also questions: Why did she wait more than three months to file charges?
Both the accuser and the accused were interviewed by the DA's office.
Both were described as cooperative.
In addition to what she said and he said, investigators analyzed hard evidence like receipts, security logs, text messages, and telephone records.
Manhattan DA spokeswoman Joan Vollero released a statement Tuesday evening saying:
"Earlier today, the District Attorney's Office sent a letter to Andrew Lankler notifying him that we would not be filing charges against his client. We made a similar notification to the complainant. From the moment this matter was referred to this Office, we conducted a thorough investigation, consistent with standard practice. That investigation included interviewing numerous fact and expert witnesses, and reviewing and analyzing multiple items of physical evidence, including, but not limited to, receipts, security logs, text messages, and telephone records. After reviewing all the evidence, we have concluded that the established facts do not constitute a crime under New York criminal law."
Both Kelly and the woman were notified of the decision.
Kelly issuing a response saying: "I am thankful that the investigation established what I've known all along, that I am innocent."
He has not been on air since the charges were made public.
As for his career, he added, "I look forward to soon resuming my post"
The allegation had presented a new high-profile sex crime investigation less than six months after an attempted-rape charge against the former International Monetary Fund leader Dominique Strauss-Kahn collapsed amid doubt about his accuser's trustworthiness in the biggest case of Cyrus R. Vance Jr.'s two years as district attorney. Strauss-Kahn denied the allegations against him.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report)
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