LOS ANGELES. - Harvey Weinstein, the former movie mogul whose alleged pattern of sexual abuse fueled the #MeToo movement against sexual abuse, was again accused on Monday of sexually assaulting two more women, according to the Los Angeles district attorney. Angels
These new charges are filed on the eve of the jury selection in another criminal trial against Weinstein in New York, where he was also charged with serious sexual assault.
Weinstein is being accused in Los Angeles of raping one woman and sexually assaulting another in two separate incidents in two days in a row in February 2013, said district attorney Jackie Lacey.
"We believe the evidence will show that the defendant used his power and influence to gain access to his victims and then commit violent crimes against them," Lacey said, adding that prosecutors recommended that bail be set at $ 5 million.
If convicted, Weinstein faces up to 28 years in state prison. He vehemently denied all allegations of sexual activity without consent.
Lacey's office has been reviewing up to nine alleged cases of sexual assault against the producer, as previously reported by NBC News. The sex crimes working group in the entertainment industry of the prosecutor's office is working on these cases.
The news of the new charges came a few hours after Rose McGowan, Rosanna Arquette and other women who accused Weinstein of sexual conduct demonstrated near a New York court on the first day of their criminal trial.
Weinstein, 67, entered the court hunched over a walker after back surgery. When asked how he felt, the visibly disheveled ex-producer smiled faintly.
But across the street, several women who have said they were harassed or assaulted by Weinstein insisted that he deserved no sympathy. They reported their pattern of alleged serial sexual abuse and denounced the culture they say allowed that abuse for too long.
"He looked like a coward. He didn't look at us. He didn't make eye contact," said Sarah Ann Masse, a writer and interpreter who alleged in an exclusive interview with Variety magazine that Weinstein sexually harassed her in her underwear during a job interview at 2008. "This trial is a moment of introspection, it is the moment of truth for society, regardless of its legal outcome."
Masse asked the jury to "make the right decision and put this dangerous man behind bars, where he can live the rest of his days paying for his crimes."
Weinstein faces charges of raping a woman in a hotel room in Manhattan in 2013 and carried out a forced sexual act with another woman in 2006. Activity in the courtroom on Monday was largely protocol before they were suspended. the procedures for the day, and the jury selection is expected to begin on Tuesday.
Weinstein pleaded not guilty in the case.
In total, more than 80 women have accused him of sexual misconduct for decades , but the New York criminal trial focuses on the allegations of only two women. The accusations first came to light more than two years ago in research reports published by The New York Times and The New Yorker .
Gloria Allred, the powerful civil rights lawyer representing the women who accused Weinstein in Los Angeles and New York, said in a statement that "the walls of justice are enclosing him."
"Mr. Weinstein's arrival in justice has been delayed and the criminal justice system in Los Angeles is now forcing him to confront those who have accused him. Women are no longer willing to suffer in silence and are willing to testify under oath in a court of law, "said Allred.
"We expect a fair result and I am sure Mr. Weinstein will receive the justice he deserves."
In a notable event on Monday, the judge in the case ruled that Weinstein's defense cannot call the New York police detective as a witness who allegedly told one of the women who accuses Weinstein of deleting personal files from his cell phone to hide them from prosecutors, according to the Manhattan district attorney’s office.
"Time is over"
The women who gathered near the court on Monday called for a systemic cultural change, the end of inappropriate sexual behavior in workplaces across the country and what some described as blaming the victims for their own abuses.
"Time is up," Arquette said, referring to the movement against harassment of the same name. "The time for sexual harassment in the workplace is over. The time for blaming survivors is over. The time for empty apologies without consequences is over, and the time for the dominant culture of silence that has allowed for time is over that abusers like Weinstein proliferate. "
Lauren Sivan, a television reporter who claims that Weinstein showed him his genitals and ordered him to keep quiet while he masturbated, dismissed his legal team's claims that his accusations were not credible.
"Where there is smoke, there is usually fire," said Sivan, flanked by other women who have made accusations and by a multitude of reporters.
McGowan, the actress and activist who accused Weinstein of rape, paid tribute to the women who will testify in the criminal trial, and said they represent many other women who may not have the opportunity to speak in court.
"They are representing us and I am immensely proud of them," McGowan told reporters. "We didn't have our day to talk. But hopefully they will have it. Their victory will be our victory. Their loss will be our loss."
When asked to respond to a recent interview in which Weinstein said he felt his supposed efforts to advocate for women in the entertainment industry had been forgotten, McGowan called him a "jerk."
This trial, in which there is so much involved, could decide Weinstein's fate. If convicted of the most serious charges, two counts of predatory sexual assault could go to prison for life.
Caitlin Dulany, an actress who said Weinstein sexually assaulted her in a hotel room during the 1996 Cannes Film Festival, told NBC News in a telephone interview Monday morning that she was hopeful.
"The idea of him getting free of this is so unimaginable for me right now," Dulany said.
"I hope to see the justice system catch up with modern culture, and I think this trial can clarify what needs to change in our legal system and show the cracks, but also provide justice to us, its survivors."
Andrew Blankstein and Diana Dasrath reported from Los Angeles; Daniel Arkin, Sarah Fitzpatrick, Adam Reiss and Elizabeth Chuck reported from New York to NBC News.
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