Court sergeant accused of sex abuse offered plea deal

January 10, 2018 By Paul Frangipane Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Erica McRae, right, previously met with her lawyer Sanford Rubenstein to speak out about her life since the alleged sexual abuse from Sgt. Timothy Nolan. Eagle file photo by Paul Frangipane

Share this:

A Brooklyn court sergeant accused of forcing a woman to perform a sex act on him in a court stairwell was offered a plea deal in Brooklyn Supreme Court on Wednesday, but he has until February to make a decision.

Sgt. Timothy Nolan was charged in August for taking a mother who was waiting to bail out her boyfriend into a Brooklyn Criminal Court stairwell and coerced her to touch his penis. The victim, Erica McRae, said she was under the impression the sergeant would either help her boyfriend’s case or negatively affect it.

The beet-red Nolan, 58, waited in the court audience wearing an olive plaid shirt. Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun quickly explained that he would have until Feb. 7 to make a decision on a public lewdness offer, as the assigned prosecutor on the case was out.

If convicted of his top coercion charge, Nolan faces up to a year in prison, but public lewdness brings up to a three-month sentence.

“Let this stand as an example that if one abuses the power of authority that they have, commits a criminal act, they will be held accountable in our system of justice,” the victim’s attorney Sanford Rubenstein said when Nolan was charged.

While McRae, 26, had cold feet to appear in the same room as Nolan, she is expected to testify in a trial against the officer of 10 years, should he deny the plea offer.

When the stay-at-home mom was sitting in court on Oct. 21, 2016, Nolan allegedly approached her, led her to a nearby stairwell, grabbed her from behind and unzipped his pants, according to court documents.

He then blocked the exit door with his back and masturbated in front of her, repeatedly telling her to “spit on it,” prosecutors alleged.

When McRae tried to escape down the stairwell, he reportedly forced her to touch his penis.

The sergeant is currently suspended without pay, an Office of Court Administration spokesman said.

McRae said she was scarred from the incident.

“I was scared to go back to court,” she said. “I don’t like to see other officers; I don’t like to be around them.”

“I don’t want this to happen to anybody else,” she added. “Especially in a court system.”

McRae has a civil case against New York state and Nolan pending until after the criminal proceedings.

“What this defendant — a public servant — allegedly did was a disgrace to his fellow court officers who day in day out serve the public with respect and work hard to keep our courthouses safe,” Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said in a statement.

Nolan is currently released without bail.