New York - Prosecutors on Monday portrayed
former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein as a serial predator
who used his power to manipulate and sexually assault young
women, while the defense argued that his accusers engaged in
consensual sex that they later reframed as attacks.
During opening statements in the high-profile rape case, New
York prosecutors accused Weinstein of committing violent attacks
on aspiring actresses who suffered shame and humiliation as they
internalised trauma from the encounters.
Defense attorneys countered that emails from the accusers to
Weinstein would show they maintained warm relations, which could
undermine a case that appears to rely primarily on the testimony
of the accusers.
Weinstein, 67, has pleaded not guilty to charges of
assaulting two women, Mimi Haleyi and Jessica Mann. He faces up
to life in prison if convicted of the most serious charge,
predatory sexual assault.
The trial is a watershed moment for the #MeToo movement, in
which women have gone public with allegations against powerful
men in business and politics.
"The man seated right there was not just a titan in
Hollywood, he was a rapist," said Assistant District Attorney
Meghan Hast as Weinstein looked on from the defense table.
She described in detail Weinstein's alleged attacks on
former production assistant Haleyi and actress Mann, as well as
on actress Annabella Sciorra. Sciorra's allegation is too old to
be the basis of a separate charge but is being used by
prosecutors to establish a pattern of serious sex crimes against
multiple women.
Sciorra is expected to testify on Thursday, according to
Weinstein's spokesman, Juda Engelmayer. The Manhattan District
Attorney's office declined to comment.
Hast told a jury of seven men and five women that Weinstein
manipulated women with promises to open doors in Hollywood,
coaxing them to hotel rooms or private apartments and then
overpowering and violently attacking them.
One female juror seemed to wince at the graphic details,
which included Hast recounting Weinstein forcibly performing
oral sex on Haleyi, yanking out her tampon.
Weinstein's lawyer, Damon Cheronis, said the evidence would
show that consensual interactions were being relabeled as
attacks.
Haleyi reached out to Weinstein multiple times after the
alleged assault, including once to “reminisce” about their time
together in 2006, Cheronis said.
The lawyer said Mann repeatedly sought out Weinstein's
company and told the producer she loved him and even wanted him
to meet her mother.
"While the narrative they painted for you is one that may
reinforce your preconceived notions, it's not the truth,"
Cheronis told jurors.“You don’t call Harvey Weinstein a predator
in 2020 when you want to introduce him to your mother in 2015,”
he said.
Hast cautioned jurors that rape isn't a "back alley" attack
at the hands of a stranger. She promised to bring in an expert
to explain that victims are often assaulted by someone they know
and do not report the crime. Victims even "reach back out to
their attacker," she said.
Since 2017, more than 80 women, including many famous
actresses, have accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct.
Weinstein, who reshaped the independent film industry with
critically acclaimed pictures such as "The English Patient" and
"Shakespeare in Love," has denied the allegations and said any
sexual encounters were consensual.
Justice James Burke told potential jurors last week that
they must decide Weinstein's case based on the evidence and not
make the trial "a referendum on the #MeToo movement."
The trial began on January 6 and could last about six more
weeks.
Regardless of the outcome of the trial, Weinstein faces
additional charges in California.
Los Angeles District Attorney Jackie Lacey announced on Jan.
6 that Weinstein had been charged with raping one woman and
sexually assaulting another in 2013.