Queens woman sues cop for filming sex, slams 'gaslighting' prosecutors
/
Valentina Veleva (right) and her attorney Joe Murray. Photo by Angela Ng
By David Brand
A Queens woman is suing an NYPD officer who she says secretly filmed their sexual encounter and slamming prosecutors for “gaslighting” her as she urged them to charge the man.
Valentina Veleva, 35, said married cop Miguel Delacruz secretly filmed her performing oral sex on March 14, 2017 after the two went back to his Jackson Heights apartment following a night out at a hookah bar. When Veleva tried to call and text Delacruz the next morning, he told her to leave him alone, sent her a 12-second clip of the sextape and implied he would release additional footage, according to the complaint.
“As if that wasn’t shocking and cruel enough, Delacruz made a thinly veiled threat to disseminate these recordings by texting Valentina, ‘Got more’ [footage] immediately after disseminating the first video to Valentina,” the lawsuit states.
Delacruz told Veleva he didn’t know why she was complaining because she was “probably the fiftieth girl he had similarly recorded,” the lawsuit continues.
Veleva said she feared he would send the videos to their mutual friends or post them online.
The next day, she alerted the police and the Queens District Attorney’s office about the threat, Patch reported last year. She and her lawyer, Joe Murray, say Delacruz broke the law by secretly recording her naked and threatening to release the illicit footage.
The police investigation was conducted by a cop who himself was under investigation. Sergeant Cliff Nieves was arrested for his role in a brothel and gambling ring protected by NYPD vice squad officers. After the probe, the Queens District Attorney’s Office, then led by late DA Richard Brown, declined to bring charges.
“They used her as a straw complainant and they never intended to prosecute the case. They kept her in just to watch Nieves,” said Murray, the 2019 Republican candidate for Queens DA.
Veleva remained persistent, however. She repeatedly called Queens assistant district attorneys to urge them to reinvestigate and bring charges against Delacruz in late-2020.
The prosecutors continued to decline in phone calls recorded by Veleva. The complaint references the conversations, stating that Veleva “has been continually mocked and treated unprofessionally by high level members of the Queens County District Attorney’s Office who have called her credibility into question.”
In one recorded phone call from Oct. 14, 2020, Investigations Bureau Chief Gerard Brave said Veleva had no standing because her face was not shown in the video clip that Delacruz sent her. Veleva cited case law where people were charged with illegally taping or sharing a sex act even though the victim’s face was not in the tape.
“He’s holding [the camera] behind your head and that causes one to think that maybe you consented to that,” Brave said. “It’s a normal human reaction that you consented to that.”
“I get it was behind your head and you say that you didn’t see it. I get that. But of course he said that you consented to it. It’s not a proof beyond a reasonable doubt case. That’s what we need in a criminal case,” he added.
Queens Investigations Division Executive ADA Gerard Brave. Photo via Queens DA’s Office
Brave also disputed the notion that Delacruz had additional footage other than the 12-second clip he sent Veleva.
“How can he? You only met him once. It's not plausible, so how could he have more videos? It doesn't make any sense. Even if, let's assume for the sake of this conversation, that it's true he said that, it's not plausible,” Brave said.
On another call Nov. 2, 2020, Brave again said Delacruz couldn’t “logically have more videos.”
Veleva pushed back, explaining that the 12-second clip was likely one portion of longer footage that Delacruz had recorded.
“This video is 12 seconds. I’m sorry but you don’t have intercourse with somebody for 12 seconds,” she responded.
On a third call, recorded Dec. 1, 2020, an irritated Brave criticized Veleva’s persistence.
“It’s evidence of your instability, madam,” Brave said. “Your instability alone is sufficient reason not to pursue it.”
Brave said he could relate to Delacruz’s attempt to get Veleva to leave him alone.
“He threatened you that there were more videos to try and get you to stop contacting him, which, apparently, after these many weeks now, I can see is a personality trait that you possess,” Brave said.
Murray, the defense attorney, called Brave’s demeanor and dismissive statements “disgusting.”
“The condescending way that he was talking to her, he was absolutely gaslighting her with the comments he made,” Murray said. “Everyone deserves respect.”
In another phone call on Dec. 1, Chief Executive Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Naiburg took a different approach. Naiburg apologized for what Veleva had gone through but said their review showed they did not have grounds for a criminal case.
“It falls upon me to tell you the investigation has closed,” Naiburg said, before suggesting Veleva talk with someone “about the emotional consequence” of the tape and the ensuing legal process.
“I can see that you’re living with this. Regardless of the result of the criminal investigation, have you yourself sought counseling in terms of the effect? Because no one can speak to the effect that life has on any of us,” Naiburg said.
The DA’s office has said they could not charge Delacruz under the state’s revenge porn law because the tape was made two years before the 2019 statute. The Queens DA’s Office did not respond to requests for comment for this story.
Delacruz’s lawyer did not respond to phone calls seeking comment. The NYPD said it does not comment on pending litigation, and the city Law Department said it was reviewing the lawsuit.
After the New York Post published a story about the case Thursday night, Veleva said multiple women have reached out to share their stories. One woman identified herself as a police officer and said she had a similar experience with a male officer.
Veleva said she wishes there was more she could do to help the women.
“I listen to them, I want to help them and I don’t know how,” she said. “I’m proud of all of them for speaking out but I see the same pattern — they reported a crime, it was mishandled and they are all still seeking justice. Just like me. It’s very painful.”
Editor’s Note: Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz has not responded to requests for comment from this reporter since taking office on Jan. 1, 2020.
