New York - Mimi Haleyi, one of the woman
former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein is charged with
sexually assaulting, told a jury on Monday he "lunged" at her in
his New York City home in 2006, backing her into a bedroom and
forcing oral sex on her.
Haleyi, a former production assistant, began crying as she
testified in a Manhattan courtroom while Weinstein watched from
the defense table.
Weinstein, 67, has pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting
Haleyi and Jessica Mann.
One of Weinstein's lawyers, Damon Cheronis, on
cross-examination pressed Haleyi about her continued contact
with Weinstein for several years after the alleged assault,
showing her messages she sent him signed "lots of love" and
"peace and love."
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.
The trial is widely seen as a watershed moment for the
#MeToo movement, in which women have accused powerful men in
business, entertainment, media and politics of sexual
misconduct.
Haleyi, 42, said Weinstein invited her to his SoHo home
after she had worked on one of his television productions.
"At some point, fairly soon into meeting him there, he kind
of came towards me and lunged at me," she said. "I got up from
the sofa and said, 'Oh, no, no, no.'"
Haleyi said Weinstein backed her into a bedroom, held her
down on the bed and forced himself on her orally.
In this courtroom sketch, Manhattan Supreme Court Judge James Burke, left, listens to testimony from witness Mimi Haleyi, right, while assistant Assistant District Attorney Megan Hast, standing, also listens in Harvey Weinstein's sexual misconduct and rape trial. Picture: Aggie Kenny via AP/African News Agency (ANA)
She testified that she told Weinstein she had a tampon in,
but that he pulled it out.
Haleyi said she subsequently accepted an invitation from
Weinstein to meet him at a Tribeca hotel.
"I believe I was trying to regain some sort of power or
something," she said.
When she met him, Haleyi said, Weinstein immediately pulled
her onto the bed and had sex with her, calling her a “whore” and
a “bitch.” She said that she did not fight back, but did not
want to have sex with him.
Haleyi said that she blamed herself for that encounter.
Weinstein has not been criminally charged over Haleyi's
second allegation.
On cross-examination, Cheronis asked Haleyi whether she had
accepted trips to Los Angeles and London paid for by Weinstein
shortly after the alleged attack, and questioned her decision to
meet him again in London.
Cheronis presented Haleyi with several messages in which she
asked Weinstein about possible jobs or, in one instance,
feedback on a television concept.
Haleyi said she stayed in touch with Weinstein because he
was powerful in her industry, and she needed work.
"I asked for jobs from many people, including Harvey
Weinstein," she said.
Under follow-up questioning by a prosecutor, Haleyi said she
had "buried" memories of the alleged assault during the time she
was in contact with Weinstein.
"Because I felt trapped and not really able to do anything
about it ... I decided to just almost pretend it didn’t happen
and just put it aside and carry on as usual," she said.
Weinstein's lawyers have said that messages from his
accusers would show that their relationships with him were
consensual.
Last week actress Annabella Sciorra testified that Weinstein
violently raped her in her Manhattan apartment in the early
1990s.
While Sciorra's allegation is too old to support a separate
rape charge against Weinstein, prosecutors hope it will show he
is a repeat sexual predator - a charge that could put him in
prison for life.