02/18/2020 - 11:37
- Clarín.com
- Society
After four weeks in which they heard the raw account of the complainants, a jury of 12 citizens debates on Tuesday to define whether Harvey Weinstein - one of the most powerful men in Hollywood for years - is guilty or not of sexual harassment and rape . In case of condemnation, the film producer could spend the rest of his days in prison.
Weinstein, 67, was charged by more than 80 women since the scandal broke out in October 2017, the genesis of the #MeToo movement. The complainants include Mexican actress Salma Hayek and Gwyneth Paltrow.
But he is only tried in the state criminal court in Manhattan for two cases : the alleged sexual assault against former production assistant Mimi Haleyi, who accuses him of having had oral sex against his will in 2006, and the alleged violation of the exacerbation Jessica Mann in March 2013. Most of the other crimes have prescribed.
The famous film producer whose films won 80 Oscar awards is accused by the New York state prosecutor's office of being a sexual predator, of sexual assault and rape . If found guilty of the five charges he faces, he may be sentenced to a maximum sentence of life imprisonment .
Producer Harvey Weinstein, on Tuesday, upon arriving at the New York court where the trial against sexual harassment and abuse is defined. (AP)
The decision will fall on a jury of 12 citizens - 7 men and 5 women - and this Tuesday's debate will be key. It is enough that one of the 12 has a "reasonable doubt" about Weinstein's guilt to send the case built by the New York prosecutor's office against the former producer on a dead end.
The producer of "Pulp Fiction" and "Shakespeare in love" is the first man accused of sexual assault under the #MeToo who is criminally tried.
Mimi Haleyi, former production assistant at Weinstein Company, one of the complainants who came to trial. (AP)
The case, however, is complicated and the prosecution has faced difficulties in proving to the jury that Weinstein is guilty beyond any reasonable doubt.
The accusation says that Weinstein took advantage of his immense power in the film industry to sexually assault aspiring actress and employees in the sector for years.
Actress Jessica Mann, another of the complainants against Harvey Weinstein, during one of the trial hearings. (AFP)
In return, the defense showed the jury dozens of emails in order to demonstrate that both accusers continued to have affectionate relationships with the film producer for years after the alleged attacks, including consensual sexual relations.
Prosecutor Joan Illuzzi-Orbon assured the jury on Friday that the accusers have "no reason to lie."
"Why submit to all this stress of coming to witness if you are not telling the truth?" He asked. "They sacrificed their dignity, their intimacy, their calm in the hope of making their voice heard."
To corroborate Haley and Mann's statements, prosecutors invited four other women to testify using a strategy that was successful in the second trial against comedian Bill Cosby after, in the first procedure, the jury failed to agree and the "Robinson" comedian had left the court of law as a free man.
"Weinstein thought he was a big fish in Hollywood" and that aspiring actresses were "goods completely at his disposal," said deputy prosecutor Joan Illuzzi-Orbon in the indictment, while photos of the images paraded on a monitor near the box. six actresses, including Annabella Sciorra of the "Sopranos", who had testified against Weinstein.
The chief defense lawyer, Donna Rotunno, said the accusers would have manipulated Weinstein to advance their careers, and urged the jury to have "the courage" to make a decision he admitted is "unpopular": acquit his client .
Expectation. Journalist wait to enter the New York courtroom where the trial against Harvey Weinstein for harassment and sexual abuse is defined. (AFP)
In his final plea, he said that the prosecution created for the jury a sort of "alternative universe" where "women are not responsible for the parties they go to, nor for the men with whom they flirt (...) or the help they ask for employment. "
Rotunno reminded the jury that in order to convict the accused they must be sure of their guilt "beyond any reasonable doubt," and recalled that the prosecution did not present forensic evidence or call any police as a witness.
In the end, it will all depend on whether the seven men and five women of the jury believe or not the two accusers and the four women who testified and witnessed how they were attacked by Weinstein, including the actress of "The Sopranos" Annabella Sciorra, who reported his alleged violation at the hands of the accused.
Jurors must reach a verdict unanimously for each of the charges.
If they fail, Judge James Burke may be forced to declare the trial void. It is also possible that there is a mixed verdict : he is found guilty of some charges and acquitted of others.
Weinstein faces a parallel investigation into sex crimes in Los Angeles and is also the target of several civil lawsuits.
Sources: AFP
DD