... “To my mind, this is an utter and complete disgrace — not just for you, but for your office in general,” Bronx Criminal Court Judge John Wilson told Bronx assistant district attorney Megan Teesdale before dismissing the case on March 21.

The defendant, Segundo Marquez, had been held at Rikers Island for more than eight months awaiting trial on reduced misdemeanor rape charges stemming from a 2010 incident.

Teesdale, who has worked for Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson since 2012, failed to inform the court that Marquez’s accuser, who testified at trial that she had been raped, initially told an NYPD sergeant that the sex was consensual.

The act of withholding evidence favorable to the defense is known as a Brady violation after a 1963 Supreme Court ruling.

The two week-long trial had reached closing arguments when one of Teesdale’s supervisors informed the judge about a note on the case file referring to the contradictory testimony.
Critics claim Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson's office fosters an atmosphere that rewards convictions, leading to misconduct by prosecutors.

“The excuse you offer, passing the file back and forth, no one looking and no one knowing what anything is, saddens me on one level and makes me sick on another,” Wilson said as he chastised Teesdale before the court. “You’re going to leave this room, and you’re never going to come back.”

Wilson, who worked as a prosecutor for Johnson’s office before becoming a judge, added that he had, “always been very proud of that association, until today.”

A Bronx District Attorney spokesman did not say whether Teesdale would be reprimanded for the misstep. Judge Wilson, however, does have the authority to bar Teesdale from entering his court or trying cases before him....