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Monserrate indicted on assault charges

Monserrate indicted on assault charges
By Jeremy Walsh

A grand jury has indicted state Sen. Hiram Monserrate (D-East Elmhurst) on assault charges for allegedly slashing his girlfriend’s face with a broken glass during a fight in December, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said.

The six-count indictment charged Monserrate, 41, with three counts of second-degree assault, a Class D felony, and three counts of third-degree assault, a Class A misdemeanor, Brown said. His arraignment was expected later in the week, the DA said.

Monserrate has denied attacking his girlfriend, Karla Giraldo, 29, saying he fell into her with the glass in his hand. Giraldo has also claimed it was an accident.

Early in the morning on Dec. 19, 2008, Monserrate got into an argument with Giraldo after he found another man’s police union card in her purse. During the fight, he broke a water glass and struck her in the face with it, prosecutors said.

Monserrate, who lives in Jackson Heights, drove Giraldo to North Shore-Long Island Jewish Hospital, where she received stitches around her left eye. Medical staff there contacted police.