Nassau County Police Officer John Ingardia's rape charge dropped, officials say

A Nassau County judge dismissed rape and harassment charges Friday against Nassau County Police Officer John Ingardia after his attorney said the allegations were made last year during a custody dispute.

Judge Teresa K. Corrigan dismissed an indictment on procedural grounds Friday, which charged Ingardia, 29, with third-degree rape and harassment, stemming from a consensual relationship, Nassau prosecutors and defense attorneys said. The officer had been indicted on one count of third-degree rape and one count of second-degree harassment. Both charges were dismissed.

The indictment was dismissed after reviewing the grand jury minutes and with the option for Nassau County prosecutors to re-present the case to another grand jury. District attorney officials said they are reviewing their options.

Ingardia and his attorney, William Petrillo, announced the dismissal Monday at the Nassau County Courthouse.

“This is finally a day of justice for Officer Ingardia. Officer Ingardia has always been a highly regarded, well respected active member of the Nassau County Police Department,” Petrillo said. “There was never any rape in this case and the evidence, the overwhelming evidence, supports that. The complaint was not made until almost two years after the alleged incident.”

Ingardia was charged after the woman made the allegations last year regarding an incident that occurred in September 2021.

The woman said Ingardia bit and assaulted her during consensual sex that left her with bruising. She said Ingardia continued after she had asked him to stop, according to court records.

The next day, the woman invited Ingardia back to her home to continue their relationship, Petrillo said.

The couple share custody of a 1½-year-old daughter and were in the process of family court proceedings last year.

Petrillo said the woman first made a complaint regarding proper care of the child. When it was unfounded, she filed a complaint in July, leading to his arrest on rape charges, Petrillo added.

Ingardia was indicted by the grand jury in December and has remained on limited duty with the police department, where he has been an officer for eight years, Petrillo said.

Petrillo said the woman accused Ingardia of violating an order of protection multiple times until a judge said it was being weaponized and the order of protection was vacated.

The woman provided thousands of text messages to the defense, but she withheld text messages from September 2021 — at the time of the alleged incident, Petrillo said.

He said the text messages were later recovered, which supported the consensual relationship.

Petrillo accused the woman of filing a false police report and perjury. Prosecutors said no charges have been filed against the complainant.

“It's been a long road for him, for the obvious reasons … He's always been a professional. He's an excellent father,” Petrillo said. 

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.