New York Officer Surrenders in Sexual Assault on Immigrant

NEW YORK — A police officer surrendered Wednesday night to face charges of taking a Haitian immigrant arrested in a nightclub fight into a station-house bathroom and sexually brutalizing him with a toilet plunger.

Abner Louima, 30, was in critical condition after surgery to repair a puncture in his small intestine and an injury to his bladder.

Officer Justin Volpe, 25, turned himself into Internal Affairs Wednesday night, said Olga Mercado, a police spokeswoman.

Deputy Inspector Michael Collins said Volpe would be charged with aggravated sexual abuse and first-degree assault. Collins also said charges against Louima relating to the nightclub fight were being dropped.

Another officer involved in the case, identified by a police source as Thomas Bruder, 31, was assigned to desk duty. Collins said only Volpe faced charges Wednesday night.

The investigation into Louima’s arrest early Saturday intensified after doctors confirmed the injuries appeared to have been caused by a blunt instrument.

Louima identified Volpe and Bruder as the arresting officers from photographs shown to him in his Coney Island Hospital bed. He claimed as many as four officers were involved.

Family members said Louima, a security guard who moved to New York from Haiti six years ago, had no bruises or injuries at the time of his arrest. “He’s never been in trouble before,” said his wife, Micheline, 24.