Rodriguez and Gonzalez, neither of whom has a criminal record, told remarkably similar stories in separate interviews with the Daily News.
In both cases, Tolstoy asked the women whether they had any tattoos before he allegedly touched their breasts. No drugs or weapons were found on them.
Initially, neither woman was able to positively identify her alleged assailant.
Internal Affairs investigators had shown them a series of about 80 photographs of officers, some clearly dating back years, the women said.
The sheer number and outdated images made it impossible for them to identify Tolstoy, the women said.
"I felt like they were hiding him," Rodriguez said.
Gonzalez's attorney, Jeremy Ibrahim, a former city prosecutor, said that the typical number of images used in a photo array is seven.
"To show 80 photos that are outdated is not a legitimate investigative technique," said Ibrahim, who accompanied Gonzalez to Internal Affairs. "It's clearly unfair to the victim.
"The process almost seemed as though it was designed to help conceal the identity of the assailant," he said, "rather than provide the victim a fair opportunity to identify her assailant."
DiLacqua would not comment about the number of photos shown to the women, but said investigators "want to get an ID."
Each woman quickly identified Tolstoy when a video of a grocery-store raid was shown to them. They viewed the video separately and without suggestive prompting by reporters.
In the video, first posted on the Daily News Web site, philly.com, on March 30, Tolstoy is among six officers seen and heard in a September 2007 raid of a West Oak Lane grocery store.
"That's him," Rodriguez said, as she covered her mouth and sobbed the instant she saw Tolstoy on the screen.
"I'm 150 percent sure," she said. "I'll never forget that face. Never. I don't erase people's faces. Especially not that one."
Gonzalez, when she saw the video, was just as certain.
"Oh, my God, that's him," she cried, as soon as she saw Tolstoy on the video. "My heart is racing right now. Just to see him come through that door [on the video] like that makes me shake all over. It brings back a lot of bad memories."
Gonzalez recognized Tolstoy by voice alone. "That's him talking right now. I know it. It still disgusts me."
She said that after seeing the video she told the Special Victims Unit and Internal Affairs investigators that she had identified Tolstoy.
Yet, Gonzalez said that she still worries that Tolstoy will return to her house, because he had taken her keys during the raid and threatened that he would come back. Gonzalez had her locks changed.
"He told me he's coming back," Gonzalez said. "I worry about that every day. People worry about criminals out there doing stuff. People shouldn't have to worry about cops. He doesn't deserve to wear the police badge. If he did it to me, he'll strike again."
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