Metro

Hiram rests case

The defense rested yesterday in the assault trial of Hiram Monserrate without calling the state senator to testify on his own behalf.

The Queens Democrat is being tried on four counts of assault after striking his girlfriend Karla Giraldo in the face with a glass inside the bedroom of his Jackson Heights apartment and then dragging her through the lobby last December.

Defense lawyer Joseph Tacopina said it was “very difficult” for Monserrate to remain mum when he stands “wrongly accused.”

He said the decision to keep Monserrate off the stand was made Tuesday night after reviewing the entire record of the trial.

“Obviously he’s had to remain quiet — while this trial is going on — about what happened that night,” the lawyer said. “He’s got a lot to say about it.”

Tacopina called just two witnesses and both claimed Giraldo was drunk before the alleged assault, which Monserrate and Giraldo maintain was an accident.

“There’s not a stitch of evidence in this record to explain what happened in the bedroom,” said Tacopina. “It’s the prosecution’s burden to prove what went on.

Summations are slated for Tuesday.