A Harrison woman has sued the town and a retired police lieutenant in federal court, alleging that the cop sexually assaulted her while on duty after he responded to her call for assistance nearly three years ago.
The woman, identified as Jane Doe, alleges that she was intoxicated and experiencing a mental health crisis when Robert Carlucci responded to her home in the early morning hours of Aug. 4, 2023. She claims she was forced to perform oral sex on him and that he then had intercourse with her – and that he continued to groom her for his own sexual gratification over the next several months.
“Any purported ‘consent’ by Plaintiff was legally and constitutionally invalid because it was obtained through the abuse of governmental power, exploitation of vulnerability, absence of meaningful choice, and the entire assault occurred while Plaintiff was legally incapable of consent, due to her extreme intoxication,” lawyers Rachel Black, Amanda Brody, David Rankin and M. Olivia Clark wrote in the lawsuit, which was filed Tuesday, June 16, in U.S. District Court in White Plains.
It alleges that the town was aware or should have been aware, of previous sexual misconduct by Carlucci and that it’s policies “exhibited deliberate indifference to the risk of such exploitation.”
Carlucci, who lives in the Bronx, joined the department in 2006 after five years as a New York City police officer. He was promoted from sergeant to lieutenant in March 2021. He retired in September 2024, a month after Jane Doe and her lawyer reported the allegations to police. He has an annual pension of $109,000, according to the website SeeThroughNY.net.
Carlucci and lawyers for Harrison did not immediately respond to multiple messages seeking comment.
Police Chief John Vasta issued a statement Wednesday saying that Carlucci was “promptly” placed on administrative leave after the allegation of sexual misconduct was made and the case referred to the Westchester District Attorney’s Office, which did not bring charges against Carlucci.
He said Carlucci could have faced disciplinary action had he not retired.
“The Harrison Police Department remains committed to addressing all allegations of misconduct promptly, thoroughly and in accordance with all legal and departmental standards,” he said.
A spokesman for the state Division of Criminal Justice Services said that the police department did report Carlucci as “removed for cause” in September 2024. That action decertifies Carlucci’s police training, making him ineligible for another law enforcement job in the state unless he re-trains.
According to the lawsuit, Carlucci is training to become an emergency medical technician.
In an interview Wednesday, June 17, the woman, who is in her 40s, told The Journal News/lohud that she had been arguing on the phone with her boyfriend, another Harrison police officer, that night. She had had a lot to drink and began taking the sedative Ambien, but had no idea how many pills she took and realized she needed help.
According to the lawsuit, she called police around 1:50 am, initially asking to speak with two members of the department who the desk officer told her were not on duty at the time. When he put her on the phone with Carlucci, the supervisor that morning, she asked him to come to her house and he told her he would with another officer.
But Carlucci showed up alone just after 2 am and the lawsuit alleges that before entering the home he radioed headquarters “You can disregard. I have this under control.” He did not activate his body-worn camera, according to the lawsuit.
After the sexual activity, just before 2:40 am, Carlucci reported “no police matter here” to headquarters, the lawsuit alleges.
She said she remembers “bits and pieces” from that night, mostly that she was suicidal and that he should have helped her, not taken advantage of her.
“I remember he had sex with me, I remember him taking my clothes off,” she said. “And I remember crying in my bathtub after he left. I was hysterical.”
She said she continued a relationship after that with Carlucci because she was afraid of him.
“I felt like he had so much control and power over me,” she said. “He made me think in my head that he saved my life that night. That’s what he would always tell me. And I believed it…It was so twisted.”
The lawsuit contends that Carlucci would have known the woman was in need of professional help as he had previously responded to her home on a distress call for which she required emergency care.
Clark said in a statement that “there is no excuse for the exploitation of power over vulnerable women, and the condonation of it enables and protects sexual abusers in high positions.”
“Nobody should be able to take advantage of the power afforded them by a badge on their shirt to sexually victimize the people they are meant to help,” she said.
Black said her client was forced into the continuing relationship with Carlucci because of his improper behavior at her house that first morning.
“Is it ever appropriate to start a relationship with someone you met when answering their distress call?” she said.
She also said the Westchester District Attorney’s Office investigated the claim and that a prosecutor told her they would not pursue criminal charges as Jane Doe had not been in police custody, when by law a detainee would not have been capable of consenting to sexual activity.
A spokesman for the District Attorney’s Office said prosecutors’ investigation was “comprehensive”, including an interview with Jane Doe, review of radio transmissions, audio recordings and the officer’s disciplinary records but that it concluded “that there was insufficient evidence to prove that the officer in question committed a crime” under sex offense laws or state laws governing the conduct of public servants.
He said potential violations of Harrison police procedures were referred back to the department for further investigation.
He also said the case underscored the need for the state legislature to close the “archaic voluntary intoxication loophole”, so that sexual misconduct victims “are not penalized if they choose to consume alcohol or other intoxicating substances prior to their assault.”
Jane Doe said she was upset Carlucci was never charged criminally. She said she hopes her lawsuit ensures that “he can never hurt anybody else again.”
“And I hope that no other cop does this again,” she said. “I hope they get better training and there’s repercussions so it doesn’t happen again.”
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Harrison cop, town sued over woman’s sexual assault allegation
Reporting by Jonathan Bandler, Rockland/Westchester Journal News / Rockland/Westchester Journal News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Jonathan Bandler, Rockland/Westchester Journal News | USA TODAY Network
