Defense makes closing argument in rape trial of former Goldman banker
By Edward Krudy RIVERHEAD, New York (Reuters) - A New York judge heard the defense's closing argument on Tuesday in the trial of a former Goldman Sachs banker accused of raping an Irish student on Long Island in the summer of 2013. Jason Lee, a former managing director, is accused of barging into a bathroom and raping the woman, who was 20 years old at the time, after a night of drinking at a popular night spot. He faces a maximum of 25 years in prison if convicted. Lee's lawyers have argued throughout the nearly three-week trial that the encounter in his upmarket $32,000-per-month Hamptons vacation rental was consensual. In a presentation lasting more than an hour, defense attorney Andrew Lankler said prosecutors failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that sex was not consensual. "This is a case with not one fact or single point of evidence that proves Mr Lee's guilt," Lankler told the court. "The only conclusion is to find Mr Lee not guilty." Lankler said key points of the prosecution's case were inconsistent. None of the witnesses testified to hearing a violent struggle despite being feet away from the bathroom where the alleged attack took place, he said. The defense also argued that saliva matching the alleged victim's was found on Lee's shorts in an indication of consensual oral sex while injuries either occurred before the incident or were not inconsistent with consensual sex. Lee, now 38, did not testify at his trial at a Suffolk county court in Riverhead before Judge Barbara Kahn. Lee also waived the right to a jury trial. The prosecutor, Assistant District Attorney Kerriann Kelly, will deliver her closing comments in an afternoon session starting at 2 p.m. Lee, who had headed convertible bond banking at the bank, was put on leave after the rape charges were filed in August 2013. He left Goldman Sachs soon thereafter. Authorities said the woman, her brother and two friends met Lee and his friend at a popular local night spot. They returned to Lee's rental in the early hours of the morning where they drank champagne and swam in Lee's pool. The alleged victim, who lives in Ireland and has not been named, took the stand at the trial and gave her account of the alleged attack. Lee is charged with rape in the first degree, sexual misconduct and assault in the third degree. (Reporting by Edward Krudy; Editing by David Gregorio)
