CRY OF FOUL AT STADIUM 'RAPE' OFFICER
Capt. attacked me on Yank detail: ex-cop
A retired NYPD cop assigned to the cushy Yankee Stadium detail says her captain raped her “nearly every game day” for a year at the ballpark, according to a lawsuit.
Gillian Roberts says that Capt. Jeffrey Brienza, her boss at the 44th Precinct, even changed her schedule to make sure he would have more time with her, her suit filed in Bronx Supreme Court said.
When she denied his advances or tried to avoid him, Brienza turned hostile, leveraging his power as her boss to give her undesirable posts and showing open hostility, according to the complaint.
The situation turned so grave, the former cop says, she “felt that she was no longer there to perform the duties of a police officer, but to provide unconsented sex to the Captain.”
Roberts, who had been a cop since 1998 before retiring last month, is seeking $35 million in damages.
Brienza is now stationed at the 25th Precinct in East Harlem, according to the suit and online databases.
Roberts worked as an officer in Queens for more than 20 years before she transferred to the Yankee Stadium detail in March 2020. At her new and more desirable assignment, Brienza “almost immediately” began to show her preferential treatment and was “overly attentive,” the suit says.
“Brienza purposefully and with premeditation manipulated Ms. Roberts for the purpose of getting her to believe that he was there for her, and tactfully worked on gaining her trust,” her lawyers say.
Brienza allegedly isolated her from other officers, took full control of her schedule and made Roberts his personal driver, which she claims was both unusual and unprecedented.
The first alleged assault took place at the end of a shift in June 2020, whenBrienzawentintothewomen’s restroom while Roberts was using it, and forced her to have unprotected sex, Roberts alleges. After she yelled “No!” Brienza allegedly yelled “Yes!” and placed his hands around her neck, the filing says.
After that, Brienza “became even more possessive” and continued to rape her, she alleges, “nearly every game day” and “most non-game days when they were on duty at the same time when he would arrange for them to be alone.” If she spoke out, Brienza allegedly threatened to ruin her career.
The complaint also claims that Brienza commanded Roberts to stop at specific locations when driving home, where he would meet her, get in her vehicle and sexually assault her.
In September 2021, Roberts reached out to the Internal Affairs Bureau about the alleged abuse, which launched an investigation. She took an early retirement on Nov. 30, even though she says she would have liked to remain on the job.
A spokesperson for the city’s Law Department said it will review the complaint when it’s served.
The Post was unable to reach Brienza by phone Wednesday.
Additional reporting by Craig McCarthy