He wasn’t flashing his badge!
A police officer from Coney Island’s 60th Precinct who allegedly exposed himself to five female officers while on duty was arraigned on an 11-count indictment for public lewdness and exposure on March 2 in Brooklyn Supreme Court. The district attorney condemned the actions of Officer Anthony Avosso, who works in the precinct’s anti-crime unit, and praised the department’s internal oversight bureau for moving to prosecute the allegations quickly.
“There is no place for this defendant’s alleged outrageous behavior anywhere in our society and especially within our police department,” said Eric Gonzalez in a statement. “I commend the Internal Affairs Bureau and my prosecutors for taking swift action to investigate and prosecute these disturbing allegations.”
A female officer assigned to the 60th Precinct filed a complaint with her Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association delegate on Feb. 16, alleging that on three separate occasions —including the night before — Avosso exposed himself to her while they were alone in a room in the stationhouse, according to the district attorney’s office.
A subsequent investigation found that Avosso allegedly exposed himself to other female colleagues, including an officer he allegedly exposed himself to on the subway en route from the district attorney’s office to the precinct, the office said.
He also allegedly exposed himself to — and masturbated in front of — another officer in a marked squad car during an overnight tour, and on another occasion allegedly exposed himself to a probationary officer who had just graduated from the Police Academy while asking her about her career goals. And he allegedly exposed himself to a fifth officer inside the stationhouse when they were alone in a room while he asked her questions, and then a second time when they were in a squad car returning from court.
Avosso has been suspended from the force without pay, according to a department rep. He was released on bail and ordered to return to court on May 2, the district attorney’s office said.
Allegations of sexual harassment and abuse are not new for the Coney Island precinct. Brooklyn South narcotics detectives Richard Hall and Eddie Martins resigned from the force in November after they were accused of raping a woman in the back of an undercover minivan within the 60th Precinct’s turf, and were subsequently arraigned on a 50-count indictment in Brooklyn Supreme Court on Oct. 30. That victim also alleged that a pack of nine officers from the precinct cornered her and her mother when she was getting a rape kit done at the Maimonides Medical Center in Borough Park a few after the Sept. 15 alleged assault to try to intimidate her not to rat out the cops, according to the New York Post.
