NEW YORK- April 28, 2009 - A New York City police officer who was called to help a drunken woman get home safely raped her instead, as she lay face down in her bed, semiconscious and covered in vomit while his partner acted as a lookout, prosecutors alleged Tuesday.

Kenneth Moreno and Franklin Mata were suspended from duty and pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges of rape, burglary and official misconduct in the December 6 incident in the Manhattan neighborhood of East Village.

The two officers were held on $175,000 bail. Their attorneys disputed the woman's version of the events.

Moreno is "prepared to fight these charges every step of the way," said his attorney, Stephen Worth. Mata's attorney, Edward Mandery, said it wasn't a crime for his client to be seen at the location and believes the woman was so drunk she doesn't know what happened.

New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, who rarely speaks on pending cases involving officers because he may have to make internal decisions, called the allegations "disgraceful" and said he did not want the charges to tarnish the department's reputation for helping people.

"This is a shocking aberration in stark contrast to the outstanding work that the men and women of the New York City police department do every day on the streets of our city," said Kelly. "The public needs to know that the police are there to protect them; and I believe that they do."

The woman reported the incident to prosecutors the next morning and was treated at Beth Israel Hospital. The officers were stripped of their guns and badges after the allegations were made public earlier this year.

Moreno's attorney said the investigation took months because prosecutors were unsure about the case. "They had concerns, some questions about the accuracy of the complainant's version of what occurred," said Worth.

There was no DNA evidence recovered, but prosecutors said Moreno admitted he used a condom during the assault.