BENNINGTON, Vt. (AP) – A judge ruled against allowing testimony on a victim’s sexual history into the trial of a Sunderland man accused of rape.

The man, Christopher Legacy, has pleaded innocent to a felony charge of aggravated sexual assault for allegedly raping his then-26-year-old girlfriend at their Willowbrook apartment in December 2002.

Legacy faces up to life in prison and $50,000 in fines if he is convicted on the charge.

At a closed hearing Thursday, Matthew Harnett, Legacy’s lawyer, challenged Vermont’s rape-shield law, which prohibits a rape victim’s past sexual conduct from being admitted as evidence. Harnett introduced a defense investigator’s written report that contained statements the victim had supposedly told a third party about her past sexual experiences with Legacy, according to a written ruling by Judge David Suntag.

The hearing was held to determine if the report would be admissible in court to attack the victim’s credibility during a trial, Suntag said in the ruling.

The judge ruled that since the report contained “double, if not triple hearsay,” and Harnett did not have any direct witness testimony the report was thrown out of court.

The judge also said the 31-year-old Legacy cannot testify about the statements.

Harnett would not comment on the details of the report, but said that despite Suntag’s ruling the report was not completely out of the picture.

“The matter is still unresolved. If the case goes to trial the evidence will be presented again,” Harnett said during a phone interview Friday.

Jury selection for Legacy’s trial is scheduled to begin April 6 at 9 a.m. and the trial is expected to start the next day.

Legacy also faces two felony charges of aggravated domestic assault, along with two misdemeanor contempt of court charges, and a misdemeanor violation of an abuse prevention order charge relating to the same victim.

AP-ES-03-13-04 1227EST