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Friday, March 29, 2024 | Back issues
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Man Sues NYC After|Rape Case Crumbles

BROOKLYN (CN) - One of four men accused of turning an Orthodox Jewish teenager into a sex slave claims in court that the city and the Kings County District Attorney's Office suppressed evidence that the woman had recanted her allegations before he was arrested.

Police arrested Darrell Dula and three other men on June 28, 2011, claiming they had forced the young woman into prostitution when she was 13.

Dula spent more than a year in jail before being released on his own recognizance on April 17 this year.

Two months later, prosecutors dropped charges against the four men.

"Defendants were aware that the alleged rape victim recanted her rape allegation against Dula prior to arresting and charging Dula with Rape in the First Degree," according to the complaint in Kings County Court.

Dula claims that defendant Lauren Hersh, a Kings County assistant district attorney, withheld that information from the grand jury.

He claims Hersh and co-defendant Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes also defamed him with "grossly irresponsible" statements at a press conference.

Dula claims that Hynes told reporters that he and the three other men "viciously raped" the woman and that police had "reason to believe that the defendants have victimized other young woman in Brooklyn."

He claims that Hersh added that the defendants had "preyed on" her since 2003, threatened to harm her and her family and stole the money that she allegedly made from prostitution.

When a reporter asked if the defendants were organized criminals or a "bunch of low lives," Hersh allegedly replied, "I think anyone who does this is a low life."

"It's one of the sickest cases I've ever seen," Hersh said, according to the complaint.

Hersh resigned in May from her position as a prosecutor, according to The New York Times.

The Kings County District Attorney's Office, Hynes, Hersh, the city and the county are named as defendants. The accuser is not.

Dula seeks damages for false arrest, false imprisonment, malicious prosecution, defamation and violation of due process.

He is represented by Jonathan Sims, with Siegle and Sims.

A Corp Counsel spokesperson said only that "we will review the suit thoroughly."

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