Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark announced Monday, Jan. 12, that two former, off-duty NYPD officers were sentenced in Bronx Criminal Court on Friday, Jan. 9, for the sexual abuse of an intoxicated woman in 2023, with one of the defendants required to register as a sex offender and both sentenced to probation and sex offender treatment programs as part of a plea agreement. The sentences imposed equated to those negotiated between the prosecution and the defense under the terms of the plea deal.

The ruling has reignited discussion over delays with the closure of the State voluntary intoxication loophole in sexual assault cases, sponsored by Bronx Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz (A.D. 81). As reported, the bill had accumulated 77 co-sponsors as of May 2025, but has not yet law.

Meanwhile, reacting to the sentencing, Clark said, “These two defendants took advantage of a woman who was intoxicated and thus unable to give consent. They are paying a severe price for their actions. They have criminal records, one of them must register with the state sex offender registry, and they have been fired from the NYPD. They have been held accountable, and hopefully the victim can move on with her life.”

Clark said Julio Alcantara-Santiago, 42, was sentenced on Friday to six years’ probation and must register under the State Sex Offender Registration Act (SORA) and participate in a sex offender treatment program. He pleaded guilty to second-degree sexual abuse on Sept. 17, 2025. Christian Garcia, 34, was also sentenced on Friday to one year of probation and must also participate in a sex offender program. He pleaded guilty to third-degree sexual abuse on Sept. 18, 2025. The sentences were handed down by Bronx Supreme Court Justice Ralph Fabrizio. Both defendants appeared in court dressed in suits, neither addressed the court, and both have the option to appeal.

As previously reported, according to the investigation, on July 9, 2023, between 12.53 a.m. and 7.30 a.m. approximately, the defendants were at a Bronx nightspot, drinking alcohol with the victim, who was present in court on Friday and who delivered a verbal statement on the day.

The court heard that she became heavily intoxicated and was seen on surveillance video leaving the nightspot being assisted by Alcantara-Santiago and Garcia, who were holding her up by her arms. According to the investigation, the victim was then seen on surveillance video being assisted by Alcantara-Santiago and Garcia into the apartment building where Alcantara-Santiago lives, and the following morning, the victim went to a local hospital. Medical testing identified DNA from both men on the victim, with a larger percentage belonging to Alcantara-Santiago.

As reported, lawmakers and activists had gathered together with students and other groups at Manhattan College on April 11, 2024 for a town hall to discuss the longstanding pending legislation referenced above. Read more about the event here.

Companion legislation in the form of the closure of the involuntary intoxication loophole, originally introduced by former State Sen. Alessandra Biaggi (S.D. 34), provided support for victims of sexual assault in circumstances where they became intoxicated involuntarily e.g. their drinks may have been spiked. The latest bill aims to support victims of sexual assault in situations when intoxication was voluntary, but, as above, has been pending passage in Albany for several years now.

In 2024, French woman Gisèle Pelicot became a household name around the world after her husband, Dominique Pelicot, was sentenced to 20 years in prison, when he was found to have drugged and raped his wife on numerous occasions between 2011 and 2020. He had also invited dozens of men, contacted through a website, to rape her while she was unconscious, mostly in the couple’s home in Mazan, France.

The case shocked the world and reignited calls both for a change of mindset and culture around rape, and more fairness and justice for victims of rape and sexual assault. A HBO documentary film is currently in production about the case.

Prior to sentencing, in the case of the two former NYPD police officers, the judge received a letter from The Justice Without Exclusion Coalition, of which Bronx resident and attorney Sue Dodell is a member. Dodell was present in court for the sentencing on Friday and had also attended previous court sessions in relation to the case.

A letter extract reads as follows: “We write to you as concerned citizens of New York State, mothers, fathers, educators, advocates, community leaders, and survivors, who are deeply alarmed by the proposed sentences in this case involving two off-duty police officers, Christian Garcia and Julio Alcantara-Santiago, who engaged in sexual acts with a severely intoxicated woman.”

It continued, “While we understand and respect that the victim has agreed to the terms of the proposed sentences, our concern lies with what the sentences communicate to the public, especially where there was substantial evidence of guilt, but no prison time was imposed. The facts of this case are not in dispute: a woman, visibly and severely intoxicated, was a mutual acquaintance of the two off-duty officers.”

The letter went on to described how footage from the night in question shows the two officers holding the victim up as she repeatedly falls both outside the bar and outside the apartment building.

The letter continued, “Despite this overwhelming evidence of her incapacity and their involvement, they [defendants] engaged her in sexual acts while she was in that compromised state. Both officers later submitted mouth swabs that matched their DNA with a swab taken from the woman’s breast. The woman could not meaningfully consent morally, ethically, or legally. The decision not to impose any custodial sentence, even in the face of such a grave breach of personal dignity and public trust, sends a chilling message: that those sworn to uphold the law may violate it without real consequences.”

The letter continued, “We do not write to override the survivor’s voice, but to express the widespread public concern over this precedent and this breach of public trust. When accountability is absent in such a clear case, survivors across the city take note. So do predators. And so do the many New Yorkers who must now ask whether equal justice is truly available for all.”

The letter continued, “As members of a community that believes in both fairness and public safety, we urge this court to recognize the long-term impact this sentence has beyond the courtroom—on survivors deciding whether to come forward, on institutions built on trust, and on public confidence in the rule of law.”

The letter concluded, “Justice without accountability is not justice at all. We respectfully ask that you reject this plea deal. With respect and urgency.” It was signed by Minister Peace on behalf of the coalition.

Norwood News reached out to the Bronx District Attorney’s office to ask why the plea deal was reached and were broadly informed that it was considered the best option given there is always a risk that, if defendants plead innocence and the case goes to trial, they may get off. A plea deal also eliminates the necessity for cross-examination of the victim in court which many victims of sexual assault find extremely traumatizing.

Norwood News also reached out to State Sen. Nathalia Fernandez (S.D. 34), who is one of the co-sponsors of the bill and who was one of the panelists at the above-referenced Manhattan College event in 2023, as well as to Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie to ask for the reason for the delay in passing the latest bill despite seemingly having sufficient support for it.

We did not receive an immediate response from the speaker. A representative from the senator’s office said, “We were successful in passing this legislation unanimously in the Senate several years in a row. Unfortunately, it’s been held up in the Assembly. Assemblymember Dinowitz’s team has been the champion of this bill in the Assembly and can probably give you better insight.”

Norwood News spoke on Jan. 15, to the assemblyman, who, together with the senator and advocates from the Justice Without Exclusion Coalition, gathered in Albany on Tuesday, Jan. 13, for a press conference on the bill to call, once again, for its passage in the upcoming legislative session. More to follow.

Meanwhile, the latest case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Shaylin French of the child abuse/sex crimes bureau at the Office of the Bronx District Attorney, with assistance from Trial Counsel Astrid Borgstedt of the child abuse/sex crimes bureau, under the supervision of Johanna Hernandez and Alexandra Militano, deputy chiefs of the child abuse/sex crimes bureau, Mimi Mairs, chief of the child abuse/sex crimes bureau, and under the overall supervision of Adrienne Giunta, deputy chief of the special victims division and Joseph Muroff, chief of the special victims division.

Clark thanked the NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau and the NYPD Bronx Special Victims Squad for their work on the investigation. Read more on the history of the referenced State bill here.

Police said that on Thursday, Jan. 15, at 11.06 p.m., an off-duty NYPD police officer, Viraj Murthy, 32, was arrested and charged within the confines of the 115th Precinct in Queens for patronizing prostitution. He is presumed innocent unless and until convicted in a court of law.

The NYPD said that on Friday, Jan. 16, at around 8.09 a.m. an off-duty NYPD sergeant, Talha Ahmad, 28, was arrested and charged within the confines of the 84th Precinct, in Brooklyn, with forcible touching, official misconduct, sexual abuse, and harassment. He is presumed innocent unless and until convicted in a court of law.

The Bronx District Attorney’s Child Abuse/Sex Crimes Hotline can be reached on (718) 838-7344 and the U-VISA Hotline can be reached on 718-590-VISA (8472).

Help is available for those wishing to exit the sex trade. For more information on local services in The Bronx, visit https://www.freedomyouthfamilyjusticecenter.org/.

If you are being trafficked ​or suspect trafficking activity ​in your area, please call the ​National Human Trafficking ​Resource Center Hotline ​at ​1-888-373-7888 ​or Text “Be Free” to 233733.​

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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.