A New York woman has come forward with disturbing allegations that a police officer sexually assaulted her during a traffic stop, forcing her to drive while he engaged in lewd acts in the backseat of her own vehicle.
Pamelys Aquino shared her account on Instagram and YouTube, prompting an investigation by the New York Police Department, according to the New York Post.
Aquino stated that she was pulled over around 12:45 a.m. on May 23 for making an illegal turn. She and her passengers — a female relative and a man with an arrest warrant — were taken to the 44th precinct because her license was suspended, a claim she denies in a video filmed by CopWatch, a group that monitors police conduct.
Aquino’s Allegations
While her passengers were released after roughly three hours, Aquino alleged that Officer Kristopher Recalde of the NYPD’s Community Response Team told her she had to remain at the station. She said Recalde later escorted her to her car, where he allegedly grabbed her and demanded, “Give me a kiss if you want to get in the car.”
“I gave him a kiss, I got in the car,” Aquino recounted in the video. She said he sat in the backseat and instructed her to drive. “I drive up less than a block and ask him something is wrong with me car,” she wrote on Instagram. “He says no and starts to grab my inner thigh as he’s holding his holster.”
“My heart stopped, my anxiety was everywhere, I was in shock. He tells me to kiss him and that he kept me in the precinct longer because he wanted to be with me,” she added.
Aquino said she tried to stay near the precinct but detailed that as she drove, he was “playing with his penis and squeezing my breast.” She broke down crying in the video.
“I was mad. I felt dirty. I felt disgusting. I didn’t want to do what he made me do, you know. I was scared,” she said. “This is what I needed everybody to know. I was scared. I was so f***ing mad.”
At one point, she managed to get out of the car, but he followed her. She alleged he then removed his uniform, placed it on the passenger seat, and returned to the back to continue pleasuring himself before ejaculating, “leaving his semen in my car seat, my doors,” and grabbing her again.
Aquino also claimed Recalde offered her money to get in the backseat and have sex with him, but she refused despite fearing what he might do.
She eventually reported Recalde to authorities.
Investigation and Status
In her posts, Aquino included photos of Recalde’s gun belt, vest, and other gear in her car, a blurry image of a hand reaching from the backseat into the front, and an official police form bearing the officer’s name.
An NYPD spokesperson confirmed that Recalde’s duty status has been modified while the department investigates. Recalde joined the force in 2021 and earned $82,960 in 2025, according to city payroll records. Last month, he was transferred to a public housing development to monitor surveillance cameras — a posting often assigned to officers facing scandals.
Aquino stated that investigators “swabbed” her car and that she has spoken with the Bronx District Attorney’s Office.
“I promise you I’m not the first person he did this too but I promise you I’m the last one!!!!,” she wrote. “I’m happy this is the end for him.”
