A New York City police officer has been arrested and charged with attempted rape after authorities said he sexually assaulted a minor on July 4 while he was off duty.
Peter Ciollo was charged with attempted rape, sexual abuse, endangering the welfare of a child, and unlawfully dealing with a child, said New York Police Department Sergeant John Buthorn Thursday. The 29-year-old was arrested late Wednesday.
According to Staten Island prosecutor Victoria Levin, Ciollo was partying with two 16-year-old girls before participating in “multiple sex acts” with the victim, which ended with his wife of four years catching the two of them in bed together. The girl’s best friend was sleeping on a couch in another room at the time. Levin said that Ciollo blamed the victim for the events that transpired.
“She came on to me,” Ciollo reportedly told authorities. “She told me she was 17.”
Ciollo was released after posting $1,500 bail following his arraignment. His wife came out to support him, and spent their fourth anniversary at Staten Island Criminal Court .
Ciollo reportedly gave the victim alcohol before letting her drive his car, and allegedly gave her more to drink before they returned to his Hampton Green home. At some point, sources said, Ciollo showed the girl pornography before kissing her on the lips and encouraging her to take her shirt off.
Ciollo and the victim ended up in bed, and the girl said she remembers waking up in someone else’s under before Ciollo’s wife found them together.
Sources said the encounter may have started out consensual but “eventually went too far.” In New York, the age of consent is 17.
Peter Ciollo, who joined the police force in 2006, has been suspended without pay from the 120th Precinct. A source said he has been off of full duty for two years due to an injury. The Oak Wood, Staten Island native received a bachelor degree in network management from DeVry University in New Jersey. He and his wife, Toni Ann, were married in July 2009.