NEW YORK (AP) — The son of New York City's police commissioner has been accused of sexually assaulting a woman who told authorities she got pregnant from the encounter and had an abortion, people familiar with the investigation said Thursday.
Greg Kelly, 43, was absent Thursday morning from his job as anchor of the popular local morning show "Good Day New York" and through a lawyer denied the allegations.
The woman told authorities she met Kelly for drinks on Oct. 8, then went back to her law office in lower Manhattan, where she was assaulted, one person familiar with the case told The Associated Press. She told authorities she was not capable of consenting to sex, the person said.
She said she became pregnant and had an abortion, according to a law enforcement official. Neither the person nor the law enforcement official were authorized to speak publicly and talked to the AP on condition of anonymity.
It wasn't clear whether the woman supplied any medical evidence to authorities to support her claim.
Police spoke to the woman but quickly turned the case over to the Manhattan district attorney's office because of the potential conflict of interest in investigating the son of Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly.
Kelly, a former Fox News correspondent, is cooperating with the investigation, his lawyer, Andrew Lankler, said in an emailed statement.
Greg Kelly "strenuously denies any wrongdoing of any kind," Lankler said. "We know that the district attorney's investigation will prove Mr. Kelly's innocence." The lawyer didn't respond to questions about the focus of the investigation.
Lew Leone, the general manager of the local Fox station, said, "Greg Kelly has requested some time off." He did not elaborate.
At some point, the woman's boyfriend learned the story and became enraged, the person said.
The woman's boyfriend confronted the elder Kelly at a recent public event, police spokesman Paul Browne said.
"He said, 'Your son ruined my girlfriend's life,'" Browne said. "The commissioner said, 'Well, what do you mean?' He said he didn't want to talk about it here, so the commissioner told him to send a letter."
Browne said that, to his knowledge, no letter was sent. He said he could not comment on the investigation because of the potential conflict of interest.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg Thursday that he "thought the police department did exactly what they should do" by turning the matter over to the district attorney.
"Keep in mind: Everyone has a right to have their complaints investigated," the mayor said, noting that Greg Kelly hasn't been charged with any crime.
It wasn't immediately clear how much time elapsed between the man's remarks to the commissioner and the woman's decision to go to a police station Tuesday, nor why she had waited for nearly three months after the alleged attack to make a report.
It's also unclear how long the woman and Kelly knew each other before the alleged encounter at her office. But they apparently were in touch afterward, according to the person familiar with the investigation.
The identity of the woman has not been released, and the AP does not name people who report being sexually assaulted unless they agree to be identified or come forward publicly.
Kelly joined Fox News in 2002. He covered the Iraq War, including four assignments in Baghdad, and was the White House correspondent from 2005-2007, according to his biography on WNYW's website.
In 2007, the television show "Extra" identified him as the most eligible anchorman on TV. The show's website said Kelly "has enough heart and courage to make any woman swoon."
He's been involved in an ongoing feud with Joel McHale, host of "The Soup" on E! Entertainment. The show plays clips from television shows to poke fun at people, and McHale has frequently targeted Kelly and "Good Day New York."
One clip noted his sullen response to partner Rosanna Scotto the morning after a loss by the NFL's New York Jets, another showed Kelly playing disco music on his laptop coming off a commercial.
Kelly struck back last Halloween by showing up on "Good Day New York" in a McHale costume and making fun of "The Soup."
Earlier in his career, Kelly covered politics for local cable news channel New York 1 and was an anchor and reporter for NewsChannel 34, an ABC and NBC affiliate in Binghamton, N.Y., his biography said.
He also served for nearly a decade in the Marine Corps and is now a lieutenant colonel in its reserves.
Raymond Kelly has been police commissioner since 2002. He also served as commissioner in the 1990s.
The allegations about Kelly's son are the latest potential public relations challenge. Also Thursday, about 20 activists held a news conference on the steps of City Hall and criticized Ray Kelly for giving an interview to the producers of the movie "The Third Jihad." They said the film encourages Americans to be suspicious of all Muslims. Kelly has apologized for the interview.
___
Associated Press writer Tom Hays and AP Television Writer David Bauder contributed to this report.
Shares