Judge: NY pol can see girlfriend he assaulted

A judge has revised an order of protection to allow embattled politician Hiram Monserrate limited contact with the girlfriend he was convicted of assaulting.

The pair kissed in the courtroom after the order was issued Tuesday and walked out hand-in-hand.

Judge William Erlbaum overruled objections by the Queens  district attorney’s office, which asked that the two continued to be separated.

Karla Giraldo said in court she wanted the order lifted.

“I love him. I want to continue to be with him,” she said, adding that she wanted to give the relationship time to grow again.

The two had been separated since his Dec. 19, 2008 arrest.

Monserrate was convicted of reckless assault, a misdemeanor, and was sentenced to three years probation for dragging a bleeding Giraldo through a hallway of his apartment building.

He was acquitted of intentionally smashing Giraldo’s face with a glass. The wound near her eye required about 40 stitches. Both said it was accidental. They said surveillance footage actually showed him trying to get her to a hospital.

The two had planned to marry. They now say they have to spend time together again before they can make that decision.

Erlbaum said it wasn’t right to oversupervise their relationship. If  Monserrate hurts or menaces Giraldo, he faces additional charges under the limited order of protection.

Monserrate, a Democrat, was ousted from the Senate in February on a 53-8 vote, about two months after his sentencing.

The conviction made him even more unpopular in Albany; he had already made enemies by betraying his Senate colleagues and siding with Republicans in a brazen coup. The deadlock, ignited with fellow Democrat Pedro Espada Jr., lasted a month before it was resolved, leaving Democrats with majority control.

During the bench trial, several lawmakers had written to Judge Erlbaum, urging him to find Monserrate guilty — an unusual and potentially unethical move.

Monserrate failed to block his expulsion. He got on the ballot as an independent while trying to return to his seat in the 13th state  Senate district, which covers a Democrat-dominated section of Queens. He was unable to win back support and lost to Sen. Jose Peralta.