In what Queens prosecutors hailed as a “significant victory” for domestic violence victims, a judge has found a complainant's emailed signature on a document to be enough to move a case ahead.

After watching numerous domestic violence cases disintegrate due post-arrest pressures by defendants on complainants, Queens prosecutors used a case against Gustalvo Perez Sanchez to test that e-signatures, which can be obtained more quickly than the written version, can create legally sufficient criminal court informations.

The defense argued that a new law was required to use electronic signatures in such a case, but Queens Criminal Court Supervising Judge Deborah Stevens Modica (See Profile) ruled Wednesday that the woman's supporting deposition was valid and granted the prosecution's bid to convert her complaint to an information. Prosecutors must obtain an information before they can proceed to trial in a misdemeanor case.