Can a defendant who abused the credibility of the sole witness in a sexual assault case proceed to impeach that sole witness?

Further, the error was not harmless. The defendant was prevented from impeaching the credibility of the sole witness against him by any other means (People v. Watson, 111 AD2d 888, 889 [2d Dept 1985]). One can only speculate as to what the line of inquiry into the pending charge would have produced by way of impeachment material, whether collateral to the action or directly related to the direct examination, such as bias or motive to lie. But defendant should have at least been allowed to start down that path. As the victim was the sole proof against the defendant, the abuse of discretion cannot be said to have been harmless.