12Court cop sex shock
Foul grope charge in B’klyn
A HIGH-RANKING court officer was indicted Monday after a woman accused him of forcing her to perform a sex act on him in a public stairwell of a Brooklyn courthouse.
Sgt. Timothy Nolan made a brief appearance in Brooklyn Supreme Court as his attorney entered a plea of not guilty on charges of official misconduct, coercion, public lewdness and exposure of a person.
Justice Danny Chun released Nolan, a court officer of 10 years, on his own recognizance.
Nolan is accused of forcing Erica McRae to touch his genitals and trying to kiss her in a sixth-floor stairwell inside 120 Schermerhorn St. on Oct. 21.
“What this defendant — a public servant — allegedly did was a disgrace to his fellow court officers who day in and day out serve the public with respect and work hard to keep our courthouses safe,” said Acting Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez.
McRae, 26, decided to reveal her identity to the public with hopes that it will prevent incidents like this from happening to someone else.
“I’m grateful for the district attorney for taking this seriously and charging him for what he did to me,” McRae told the Daily News. “I don’t want this to happen to anyone else. I hope because of this indictment that they’ll know officers cannot get away with this.”
McRae said Nolan approached her last fall while she was sitting in a court hallway waiting to post bail for her boyfriend. The couple had been arrested for unauthorized use of a vehicle, but McRae was released on her own recognizance.
The officer was on duty and in uniform, McRae said.
Nolan, 58, told her to take a walk with him and led her to a public stairwell, according to prosecutors.
He told her “I got you” and “I will take care of you,” and then exposed himself and asked for a sexual favor, prosecutors said.
McRae told authorities she understood the comments to mean that Nolan would help bail her boyfriend out if she complied— or possibly, complicate things if she didn’t.
Nolan allegedly asked her to “get it wet,” a law enforcement source said.
The court officer allegedly grabbed McRae by the hair, fondled her and attempted to kiss her as she performed a sex act on him.
McRae immediately reported the incident and Nolan was removed from his post.
The stay-at-home mother told The News she couldn’t believe what happened to her.
It made her afraid to go back to court for appearances related to her own case, she said.
Her attorney, Sanford Rubenstein, issued a notice of claim in Albany against the court system and Nolan.
Rubenstein applauded the indictment for sending a clear message that abuse of power is never acceptable.
Nolan has been suspended without pay since November. If convicted, he faces up to a year on Rikers Island.