Friel was the head of the unit at the time in 2011, which was participating in a documentary relating to the group’s work. During the course of filming, two of Friel’s investigators were recorded discussing the active rape prosecution of former New York police officers Kenneth Moreno and Franklin Mata. While the footage never made it into the documentary, Friel’s office failed to turn the footage over to the defense prior to the investigators taking the witness stand, which could’ve been a violation of state law. Defense attorneys would later argue the footage could have been beneficial to their clients’ defense.
Moreno and Franklin were ultimately acquitted of the rape charges, but each was dealt prison sentences for official misconduct convictions. That’s where opposing lawyers attempted to seize on the documentary footage that hadn’t been provided to the defense. But attempts to overturn the misconduct convictions on the basis of concealing evidence ultimately failed, as appeals courts ruled the footage was immaterial and hasn’t illustrated prosecutorial misconduct.
Friel would step down from the Sex Crimes Unit in July 2011, after the evidence flap and rape acquittals. It has been reported by multiple outlets that she was asked to resign for a handful of reasons – among them engaging in the HBO documentary and also internal prosecutorial differences with her then-boss, New York County district attorney Cyrus Vance.