text: Greg Kelly promised a rapid return to his anchor chair. 
   
   Manhattan prosecutors cleared the police commissioner's son of rape Tuesday in a case that gripped the city and threatened his career as host of Fox 5's "Good Day New York." 
   
   
   
   Greg Kelly said he was grateful to be exonerated and promised a rapid return to his anchor chair. 
   
   
   
   "I am thankful that the investigation established what I've known all along, that I am innocent of the allegations that were waged against me," Kelly said in a statement. 
   
   'THANKFUL' KELLY SPEAKS OUT: READ THE FULL STATEMENT HERE 
   
   Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr.'s decision, first reported by NYDailyNews.com, came late Tuesday after both the accuser and Kelly's lawyer Andrew Lankler met separately with sex crimes unit chief Martha Bashford. 
   
   
   
   "We have determined that the facts established during our investigation do not fit the definitions of sexual assault crimes," Bashford wrote Lankler, in a formal letter. 
   
   
   
   Because Kelly's father, Raymond, runs the NYPD, the Police Department had no role in the probe. 
   
   
   
   A co-worker of Greg Kelly's at Channel 5 called the news "a big relief." 
   
   
   
   "Those who know Greg always felt he should be exonerated. Hopefully, the headlines will be as big for this part of the story," the co-worker said. 
   
   ANALYSIS: KELLY STILL HAS A FUTURE IN TV 
   
   The accuser's mother, visibly angry at what she called the media's "slander" of "an innocent woman," told a Daily News reporter seeking comment at her Port Washington, L.I., home that she would call the cops. 
   
   
   
   "In this town (they) do what they're supposed to do," she said pointedly, slamming her door. 
   
   
   
   The accuser, a 28-year-old paralegal, walked into Manhattan's 13th Precinct stationhouse on Jan. 24 with a bombshell statement. She told police she had gone drinking Oct. 8 at a South Street Seaport bar with Kelly, a 43-year-old former Marine Harrier jet pilot, and then took him to her law offices, where she says he raped her. 
   
   
   
   She said she got pregnant from the encounter and had an abortion. The woman's boyfriend angrily confronted Raymond Kelly about his son at a public event before she made her statement to prosecutors. 
   
   
   
   The NYPD immediately handed the case to Vance's office. Her accusation was problematic, not just because three months had passed, but because the woman had sent Kelly flirtatious and friendly messages both before and after the encounter. 
   
   
   
   Investigators interviewed both Greg Kelly and his accuser, reviewed bar receipts, security logs, text messages and telephone records — and concluded no crime occurred, Bashford said. It was a significant legal step beyond saying the allegations could not be proved. 
   
   
   
   Under state law, rape is defined as sexual intercourse without consent, either due to force, fear or impairment. 
   
   
   
   Vance spokeswoman Joan Vollero said the DA will not bring a false reporting charge against the woman. 
   
   
   
   Bashford's letter said both the woman and Kelly were interviewed early on and both were cooperative. Sources said the woman's story remained consistent throughout: She believed she was too drunk to consent to sex. 
   
   
   
   Lawyer Paul Callan, who represented Channel 7 meteorologist Heidi Jones when she was charged with making false rape claims, said he thought Kelly's accuser had no standing to file a civil suit against Kelly — but suggested Kelly could sue her for defamation. 
   
   
   
   However, he said, "the chances of him bringing a lawsuit are zero, unless he wants his entire sexual history with women discussed in the New York press." 
   
   
   
   Commissioner Kelly declined to comment on his son being cleared. 
   
   
   
   Greg Kelly, who had not been on the air or seen in public since the accusation became public on Jan. 25, is expected to discuss his return to TV with Channel 5 brass on Wednesday, sources said. 
   
   
   
   In his statement, he thanked his family, his viewers and his co-host, Rosanna Scotto, for their support. 
   
   
   
   "I will always remember her kindness, and I look forward to soon resuming my post on ‘Good Day New York' next to her," Kelly said. "I am so blessed to have a wonderful family and friends whose support for me never wavered," he said. 
   
   
   
   Channel 5 insiders said that at a staff meeting last week, news director Dianne Doctor said she expected huge ratings when Kelly returned to the air. 
   
   
   
   "I think there will be a ratings bump when or if he returns," one staffer said, "and then it will be back to business covering crime, politics and Snooki and JWoww's new show in Jersey." 
   
   
   
   One insider wondered how Kelly's on-air chemistry with Scotto may change. Before the allegations, Scotto had been the family person in the relationship, often joking about trying to get Kelly dates. 
   
   
   
   "Will he change his demeanor?" asked a source. "They always tease him as being the single guy hanging out and having fun." 
   
   
   
   With Vera Chinese, Rocco Parascandola and Barbara Ross 
   
   
   
   mgrace@nydailynews.com ||||| TV anchor Greg Kelly will not be charged in the case of a woman who accused him of rape. (Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) 
   
   By Shayna Jacobs and Tom Liddy 
   
   DNAinfo Staff 
   
   MANHATTAN — Greg Kelly, local television news anchor and the son of Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, will not be charged with raping a woman in lower Manhattan last year, according to the District Attorney's office. 
   
   The news comes just two weeks after it was revealed that the "Good Day New York" co-host was being investigated for allegedly attacking a Wall Street paralegal after a night of drinking at the South Street Seaport — a case that shocked the city. 
   
   "After reviewing the evidence, we have determined that the facts established during our investigation do not fit the definitions of sexual assault crimes under New York criminal law," said Martha Bashford, the chief of the DA's sex crimes unit, in a letter to Kelly's lawyer, Andrew Lanker. 
   
   "Therefore, no criminal charges are appropriate." 
   
   The letter noted that the DA's office had "conducted a thorough investigation," reviewing "receipts, security logs, text messages and telephone records." They interviewing both Kelly and the victim, deeming them both "cooperative." 
   
   Kelly, who has been off the air since the allegations surfaced, said in a statement that he was pleased with the outcome of the probe. 
   
   “I am thankful that the investigation established what I've known all along, that I am innocent of the allegations that were waged against me," he said. 
   
   "I am so blessed to have a wonderful family and friends whose support for me never wavered." 
   
   The investigation, which was was turned over to the DA's office by the NYPD to avoid a conflict of interest, represented yet another rough patch for the NYPD commissioner, who was already under fire for an anti-Muslim video being shown to police recruits during training. 
   
   The sexual assault complaint against Greg Kelly surfaced after the victim, a 29-year-old paralegal, walked into the 13th precinct stationhouse on Jan. 24 and made the accusations. 
   
   According to sources, she told investigators that she and Kelly met on the street two days before going on a date at the South Street Seaport. 
   
   They exchanged numbers and emails, and agreed to get together on Oct. 8. After drinking for a few hours that night, they decided to head to the Financial District law office where the victim worked. 
   
   There, she claimed, Kelly sexually assaulted her while she was virtually passed out. 
   
   But the pair later exchanged text messages, saying that they had a good time and discussing getting together again, according to sources. 
   
   The alleged victim came forward after she told her boyfriend about the claims and he became enraged. 
   
   He later confronted the police commissioner at a public event and said that his son had ruined his girlfriend's life. 
   
   The victim also told investigators that she became pregnant as a result of the alleged attack and had an abortion, sources said. 
   
   After the allegations surfaced, Greg Kelly vehemently maintained his innocence, but took a leave of absence from his show on Fox 5. 
   
   His father refused to answer questions about the incident. 
   
   The mayor's office declined to comment on the case Tuesday night. 
   
   Fox 5 did not immediately respond to calls and emails for comment Tuesday. 
   
   Additional reporting by Murray Weiss
target: – The son of NYPD chief Raymond Kelly will not face rape charges over a high-profile accusation that emerged last month, reports DNAinfo. Both the Daily News and New York Times also say that Greg Kelly—TV host of Good Day New York and the son of police chief Raymond Kelly—won't be charged. His accuser, a paralegal in her late 20s, told police that Greg Kelly assaulted her last October after they returned to the Manhattan office where she worked after a night of drinking. “The facts established during our investigation do not fit the definition of sexual assault crimes,” said a letter provided to Kelly's lawyer from the office of Manhattan DA Cyrus R. Vance Jr.