Friends of Jovanovic's who refused to be quoted say the alleged victim had sent e-mail messages suggesting she had previous rough sex encounters and that those missives left the impression she might like more of the same. On Friday, State Supreme Court Justice William Wetzel cited the state's rape shield law in allowing the prosecution to delete portions of the woman's e-mail messages and said the defense may not explore her sexual history. Wetzel also ruled that prosecutors may not back out of an agreement to refrain from using Jovanovic's e-mail against him. Heatherly agreed not to use the e-mail after Litman challenged the legality of its seizure. Litman had said that any violence was consensual, but after learning there was no medical evidence of violence, he said none occurred.
Prosecutors say they have photos of bruises on the woman.
They also say they intend to call medical experts who will explain how a person might be sexually assaulted without there being evidence of it. Jovanovic, who graduated from Hunter College High School and the University of Chicago, is a doctoral candidate in molecular biology at Columbia. He is charged with kidnapping, sodomy, sex abuse and assault. Nine women and three men and three alternates were chosen last week as jurors. The trial is expected to last about three weeks.