The retrial of Harvey Weinstein has begun in New York – with a prosecutor telling the courtroom the previous Hollywood mogul used “dream opportunities as weapons” to prey on the three girls accusing him of sexual abuse.
The case is being retried 5 years after the landmark #MeToo case in opposition to the producer, who was as soon as one of many trade’s strongest figures, after the appeals courtroom final yr overturned his conviction.
Weinstein, who’s now 73, is charged with raping one lady and forcing oral intercourse on two others. He has strenuously denied the allegations.
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Why is Weinstein getting a retrial?
Lawyer Shannon Lucey instructed the courtroom the Oscar-winning producer and studio boss used “dream opportunities as weapons” in opposition to the feminine accusers.
“The defendant wanted their bodies, and the more they resisted, the more forceful he got,” she stated.
Weinstein had “enormous control over those working in TV and film because he decided who was in and who was out,” the courtroom heard. “He had all the power. They had none.”
Wearing a darkish go well with and navy tie, Weinstein listened to the prosecution’s assertion after arriving in courtroom in a wheelchair, as he has finished for his current appearances.
His legal professionals are anticipated to stipulate their case afterward Wednesday.
Picture:
Steven Hirsch/ New York Submit by way of AP/ pool
The opening statements acquired underneath approach after the final jurors had been lastly picked on Tuesday, greater than per week after the choice course of started.
Potential jurors had been questioned about their backgrounds, life experiences and numerous different factors that might doubtlessly affect their means to be honest and neutral a few case that has been so extremely publicised. They’ve additionally been requested privately about their information of the case and opinions on Weinstein.
Seven males and 5 girls have been chosen to listen to the trial.
Why is there a retrial?
In 2020, Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in jail after being discovered responsible of fees of sexual assault in 2006 and rape in 2013, relating to 2 girls.
However in April 2024, New York’s highest courtroom overturned the convictions as a consequence of considerations of prejudicial testimony and that the decide within the unique trial had made improper rulings.
Prosecutors introduced a retrial final yr and a separate cost regarding a 3rd lady, who was not a part of the unique trial, has since been added to the case. She alleges the producer pressured oral intercourse on her at a lodge in 2006.
Weinstein has pleaded not responsible to all fees and denies raping or sexually assaulting anybody.
At a preliminary courtroom listening to in January, he begged for the retrial to be held as shortly as potential as a consequence of his deteriorating well being, telling the decide: “I don’t know how much longer I can hold on.”
Weinstein was additionally sentenced in February 2023 after being convicted of rape throughout a separate trial in LA – which signifies that even when the retrial ends in not responsible verdicts on all three counts, he’ll stay behind bars.
His legal professionals are additionally interesting this sentence.
