Accuser's weight is part of defense in lawyer's attempted rape trial
A woman who accused a New York lawyer of trying to rape her on a fold-out bed in his law office was questioned about her weight during the trial on Tuesday.
The accuser said she met lawyer Dan Nelson at a bar and accompanied him to his law office, the New York Post reports. She said she changed her mind about sex after Nelson refused to wear a condom, but Nelson pushed her onto the bed and refused her repeated requests to stop.
Defense lawyer Tim Parlatore asked the woman whether she weighed 215 pounds at the time of the incident, according to the New York Post account. The woman answered yes.
Parlatore noted that Nelson weighs 215 pounds. “Did the bed fall or break in any way?” he asked. The victim said it did not.
“Are you aware that the bed has a maximum,” Parlatore continued. At that point the prosecutor objected and the judge sustained it.
The woman testified that she was able to get up after pushing Nelson and telling him she had to go to the bathroom. She instead made a run for the elevator, with Nelson grabbing and ripping her dress, she testified. He paused after he grabbed her wig and it came off. At that point, the elevator closed, the woman said, and she was able to get away.
