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NEW YORK (CBS/AP) ― The ex-girlfriend of a man on trial for posing as a firefighter and sexually abusing a co-worker recalled through tears Wednesday how her former lover relentlessly tormented her -- and even posted her nude photos and contact information on the Internet.

The dramatic testimony of the ex-girlfriend came during the third week of Peter Braunstein's sexual assault trial over the Halloween 2005 attack of a woman in her Chelsea apartment. Braunstein is not on trial for doing anything to the former girlfriend, Jane Larkworthy, but the defense and prosecution view her testimony as crucial to the case.

Larkworthy, W magazine's beauty editor, testified that the day she broke free from Braunstein followed a night after she told him she wanted to end their relationship. She said he threatened to hurt her and himself.

"He threw something at me," said Larkworthy, 44. "He came over to me and put his hands around my neck." She said she was not really worried he would hurt her physically, but then he began brandishing a serrated bread knife.

Larkworthy, occasionally weeping as she recalled some of the confrontations with Braunstein, said he made her promise to be a better girlfriend and quizzed her on how she would accomplish that. Then they went to bed.

The next morning, in November 2003, Larkworthy grabbed her keys, walked out of her apartment and went to the 17th Precinct. She said she told police her predicament and asked them for help.

When police drove her back to her apartment building, Braunstein asked one police officer, "Do I need a lawyer?" The officer replied, "I don't think so, but I think you need to find another place to live."

For more than a year, Braunstein harassed Larkworthy relentlessly, she said. He called her constantly, and sent lewd and defamatory e-mails, suggesting she was sexually loose or mentally unstable, to colleagues and supervisors.

"Paris Hilton is no longer alone," said one e-mail that invited recipients to an Internet site. "See the hot saucy photos of Jane Larkworthy."

Braunstein posted nude photos of Larkworthy along with her personal contact information on the Internet and with invitations for men to contact her. And he caused a false item to appear in the New York Post's Page Six gossip column, she testified.

The harassment stopped only after Braunstein was arrested near the end of January 2005, she said. He pleaded guilty to second-degree menacing, was sentenced to community service and was on probation when he attacked their former co-worker on Halloween 2005.

On that night, Braunstein allegedly ignited smoke bombs while wearing a firefighter's gear, bluffed his way into the accuser's home and held her prisoner and sexually abused her for nearly 13 hours.

Larkworthy, whom Braunstein called "BioHazard," said she happened to be on West 24th Street that night and heard the fire truck sirens.

Braunstein has pleaded not guilty to kidnapping, burglary, sex abuse and robbery, although his lawyers concede that he attacked the woman. They say he is mentally ill and should not be held criminally responsible for the attack.

Prosecutors say his relationship with Larkworthy shows his motive and his ability to devise twisted plans for revenge. Prosecutors say the Halloween victim, who barely knew Braunstein, was a surrogate for the people the defendant disliked.

Defense lawyers say that when Larkworthy, Braunstein's girlfriend of about two years, ended the relationship, that caused the already mentally unstable defendant to snap. They say she is, indirectly, the reason Braunstein is on trial.

Robert C. Gottlieb, one of Braunstein's lawyers, had Larkworthy say the relationship she began with Braunstein was completely different from the one she ended. She had called him incredibly charming, intelligent and flirtatious.

Gottlieb had Larkworthy read one of her love letters to Braunstein, written in March 2002 while she was on a working trip to Paris. Her reading of the letters marked the only time Braunstein has smiled openly while sitting in court.

The letter said that while trying to write an article for W, "a wave of you comes over me," and she puts the article aside. "My arms get goosebumpy and my chest begins to float," the letter said.

Then Larkworthy, saying how much she loved Braunstein, writes, "I can't wait to lock eyes with yours and feel your loving touch. It gives me such joy to be in love with you Peter."

(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)