NY Daily News
A woman who accused a Brooklyn man of making her a sex slave is an alcoholic who went AWOL and isn’t ready to testify, lawyers said Wednesday.
For the second time in as many weeks, prosecutors postponed the sensational rape trial of John Hopkins, 45, because his accuser is in rehab and can’t be reached.
“This case is profoundly weak,” defense lawyer Andrew Stoll said in Brooklyn Supreme Court. “The complainant has now demonstrated her unreliability.”
Four hours after lodging the complaint against Hopkins, her blood alcohol level was still two and a half times the legal driving limit, according to medical record that described her condition as a “severe degree of poison.”
The 27-year-old Wisconsin woman had admitted to a consensual S&M encounter with Hopkins and an online correspondence until she moved into his Williamsburg apartment in February. She stayed there a week, subjected to a litany of punishment and abuse, before claiming she was raped.
Justice Patricia DiMango – who noted, “I’m not an expert in this area” – said all sides concede the kinky relationship was consensual. The question at trial, she added, was whether the woman ever said “No.”
The judge rebuffed Stoll’s efforts to reduce Hopkins’s $350,000 bail, meaning he remains in jail. She ordered the prosecutor to be ready, witness and all, in two weeks.
“I will most certainly do every effort to try,” said assistant district attorney Christina Fay.