Nine months after his girlfriend needed 20 stitches to close a gash that came near to taking out her eye, a trial date has been set for state Sen. Hiram Monserrate. He will meet a jury of his peers Sept. 14. They will decide whether Monserrate is guilty of a vicious act of domestic violence.
He is accused of slashing his girlfriend’s face with a broken glass and then driving her to a hospital on the Nassau County border even though two other hospitals in Queens were closer. The grand jury was reportedly shown a video tape showing him dragging his girlfriend away from a neighbor’s door and out of the building. She now says the incident was an accident. Nevertheless, a judge has refused to remove an order of protection.
It is important the charges against Monserrate are resolved quickly. He deserves his day in court. What he does not deserve is a seat in the Senate while under this cloud of domestic violence.
