Lawyer Says Teen Sex Charge Lacks Evidence

Yorktown- A lawyer for a corrections officer accused, along with a town woman, of having sexual contact with a 15-year-old girl questioned the evidence against his client on Tuesday. He stated outside of court that the girl was unable to identify the officer in a lineup.

Frederick Portella, 44, who is an official in the Westchester County correction officers' union and was a candidate for the Lakeland school board in the spring, and Michelle Mace, a 33-year-old mother of two from Shrub Oak, are charged with third-degree rape, a felony, and endangering the welfare of a minor, a misdemeanor.

They appeared briefly Tuesday night in Town Court, where their respective attorneys requested a conference with the District Attorney's Office to discuss evidence in the case.

Portella's attorney said afterward that he had requested the conference because the state had yet to present any evidence against his client.

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