D.A. & aide: Sex or rape?

MARTINEZ, CALIF.

- The sex-crimes prosecutor was on his way to work when a police officer handcuffed him and told him he was under arrest - on suspicion of rape.

A junior prosecutor, identified in the case as "Doe," told police that Contra Costa County Deputy District Attorney Michael Gressett, 54, had raped her during their lunch hour while he was awaiting a jury verdict in a molestation case he had tried.

She said she had wanted sex but not the kind he had in mind. The two had had sexual contact at least once before, and she had described him to a friend as "pretty kinky," according to court records.

In their final sexual encounter, she told a grand jury, Gressett wielded ice cubes, an ice pick, handcuffs and a gun in a brutal rape that stained bedsheets with blood.

Gressett, potentially facing life in prison, told investigators that he and the woman had had rough sex but that it was consensual, according to court documents.

A search of his home found 200 tablets of Viagra and some marijuana. In his nightstand drawer were an ice pick, a gun and handcuffs.

After nearly three years of prosecution, a judge dismissed rape charges against Gressett in late October on the grounds that a grand jury had not heard evidence that might have undermined the alleged victim's credibility.

California Attorney General Kamala Harris' office is considering whether to file new charges or appeal.

Prosecutors from the state attorney general's office have two months to decide whether to appeal the ruling that dismissed the charges.

They said they would consider Doe's wishes before deciding whether to file new charges. Doe, who now practices law in Florida, was unavailable for comment.