Sep 30, 2009 1:49 pm US/Eastern
Monserrate's Girlfriend Testifies At Assault Trial
Karla Giraldo, At Center Of Assault Case Against Dem, Takes Stand
30-Year-Old Has Backed Up State Senator's Account In Sworn Statements
QUEENS (CBS) ―
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New York City Councilman Hiram Monserrate.
New York City Council
State Senator Hiram Monserrate's girlfriend, Karla Giraldo, was shielded from the public and the television cameras as she prepared to take the stand just as the prosecution wraps up their assault case against the freshman Democrat.
Assistant District Attorney Scott Kessler has said Monserrate smashed Giraldo's face with a water glass during an argument.
Giraldo has been subpoenaed to testify by the prosecution who may be forced to treat her as a hostile witness because she didn't want to testify against Monserrate.
She now says it was an accident. Testimony showed she required 40 stitches after the Dec. 19 incident. The 30-year-old girlfriend suffered two gashes around her left eye.
Giraldo has backed up the state Senator's account in sworn statements and grand jury testimony.
Grainy building surveillance footage shows Monserrate grabbing and shoving Giraldo as she clung, bleeding and screaming, to a door frame.
The prosecution introduced into evidence the ripped and bloody t-shirt the state Senator was allegedly wearing the night of the incident, but it was tossed out.
The prosecution claims the condition of the shirt and the fact that it was tossed shows that the couple struggled. But Monserrate's lawyer says it's not even clear that the state senator wore it that night.
If convicted of the top charge, second-degree assault, Monserrate will lose his Senate seat.
(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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