Accuser's Best Friend Testifies in Rape Trial

The trial of Jason Lee, the man accused of raping a 20-year-old Irish student on Aug. 20, 2013, in East Hampton, resumed Tuesday morning with a friend of Mr. Lee’s accuser taking the stand.

Identified only by her first name, Fiona, the friend was among those at the house Mr. Lee was renting on the morning in question. Asked by Kimberley Shalvey, a prosecutor, who the alleged victim was to her, she said, sobbing, that D.D., as she is known, was her best friend.

Both D.D. and Fiona flew in from Ireland to testify in the trial, which began Wednesday.

Mr. Lee and a friend had invited D.D., Fiona, D.D.’s brother, and three others back to the house on Clover Leaf Lane for a late-night party after meeting them at the nearby Georgica restaurant. Fiona described seeing D.D. immediately after the alleged attack, and said she looked shaken and scared, and that “there were tears in her eyes.”

The trial continued into the afternoon, with D.D. expected to testify later in the day.