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No Charges Against N.J. Troopers Accused Of Rape

Rider Student Alleged Rape After Meeting Officers In Trenton Nightclub

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) ― Seven state troopers who were suspended after a woman claimed she was raped at one of their homes will not be charged with a crime, a prosecutor said Thursday.

Stephanie Kurowsky, a spokeswoman for the Middlesex County Prosecutor said that the case has been closed, but would not comment further.

Lawyers for the troopers said the system worked and their clients have been cleared.

"Our clients are elated that they have been completely exonerated. They look forward to resuming their careers and their lives," the lawyers said in a joint statement.

The case is not over for the troopers, who now face possible departmental charges and could lose their jobs.

The state police superintendent, Col. Rick Fuentes, has already requested case files from Middlesex County prosecutors, according to a law enforcement official who is familiar with the case but requested anonymity because he is not authorized to speak about it.

The troopers remained suspended with pay Thursday, the official said. It was unclear if their status will change before Fuentes finishes his review. None of the troopers have been named.

David Jones, president of the trooper union, said he expects the men to be allowed to return to duty.

"I fully expect them to return to full or limited duty status," said Jones. "These charges, while very serious, have been shown to be without merit. That was the genesis of their changing duty status. Hence, it would make sense to get them back to being the productive members of the state police they were before these allegations were brought."

In December, a woman told authorities that she had been raped by a group of troopers she met at a Trenton night club.

She claimed the incident occurred at the Ewing Township home of one of the troopers.

No formal charges were ever filed as investigators first from the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office, then from Middlesex County, looked into the story.

The woman who told authorities about the incident said there was enough evidence to go ahead with charges against all seven troopers, said her lawyer, Nat Dershowitz.

"The victim is extremely upset that the DA's office is not going to present the case to the grand jury and is not going to prosecute the matter," Dershowitz said. "She feels she has been left without any justice."

He said there were delays in the investigation and his client was not treated fairly. He also said it appears the case was closed administratively rather than with a grand jury deciding there was not enough evidence to prosecute.

Dershowitz said the 24-year-old woman, who was a student at Rider University at the time of the alleged incident, will now weigh her other legal options, including filing a civil lawsuit and asking the United States Attorney's Office to investigate the case as a civil rights violation.

He said she has to decide, "having been raped and then abused by the system, whether she wants to continue with it." 

(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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