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Harvey Weinstein in court in Los Angeles (October 4): Already sentenced to 23 years in New York
Photo: POOL / REUTERS
Prosecutors, defense and the first of the plaintiffs had their say: A new trial against former film mogul Harvey Weinstein for sexual assault has begun in Los Angeles.
The 70-year-old, who had already been sentenced to prison, was in a wheelchair when he was brought into the courtroom.
He struggled to get up to sit next to his lawyers on a chair, reported local journalists.
During the opening speeches, the public prosecutor's office in California raised serious allegations.
Prosecutor Paul Thompson showed photos of women scheduled to testify at Weinstein's trial in court.
Before the twelve jurors, he quoted excerpts from the accounts of these women, some of them in drastic detail.
All would testify that Weinstein ignored clear signs they didn't consent, the prosecutor said, including "their bodies shaking, their crying, their flinching from him, their nos."
Weinstein's lawyer Mark Werksman categorically rejected the allegations in his opening statement and presented Weinstein as an innocent man. The plaintiffs had consensual sex with the influential producer to advance their careers in Hollywood, the defender explained.
Wife of US Governor Newsom among the witnesses
There are 11 charges, including rape and other sexual assault.
It is about allegations by five women in a period from 2004 to 2013. Their names were paraphrased as "Jane Doe #1 - #5" and made anonymous.
Most of the attacks are believed to have taken place in Beverly Hills hotels.
Plaintiff Jane Doe #4 previously revealed her identity.
This is Jennifer Siebel Newsom, wife of California Governor Gavin Newsom.
When she met Weinstein in 2005, she was trying to break into Hollywood as an actress, prosecutor Thompson said.
Weinstein invited her to his hotel room with a promise to talk about her career.
There he raped her.
Thompson drew a terrifying picture of the defendant based on the testimonies of several women.
Weinstein masturbated in front of them, violently harassed his victims, forced them to have oral sex.
In the course of the trial, several women are said to describe the alleged assaults on the witness stand.
Weinstein's attorney, Werksman, began by attacking the plaintiffs.
They would lie, invent encounters or present them completely differently under the influence of the MeToo movement.
At the time, the women had consensual sex with his client to get ahead in Hollywood, Werksman said.
That was common in the industry.
That was the “casting couch” with sex as a commodity, the lawyer explained in court, according to the reporter.
Weinstein isn't Brad Pitt or George Clooney, but beautiful women got involved with him because he was powerful.
Dozens of witnesses expected
With Jane Doe #1, the first plaintiff took the witness stand on Monday.
According to her, she traveled to Hollywood from Rome in February 2013 for a film festival.
Weinstein came into her hotel room on the pretext that he wanted to talk.
He forced her to have oral sex there, she said sobbing.
In tears, the woman struggled to regain her composure, reported reporters present.
The survey is scheduled to continue on Tuesday.
Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in prison in New York in March 2020 for rape and sexual assault, among other things.
The jury believed the testimonies of several women, despite Weinstein's protestations of innocence.
This trial marked a milestone in legal history.
The case had significantly triggered the #MeToo movement.
Dozens of witnesses are expected in the new trial, including experts, but also celebrities such as actor Mel Gibson.
In the past two weeks, the jury - nine men and three women - was selected from a pool of more than 200 candidates.
bbr/dpa/AP