A new trial on Harvey Weinstein began in Los Angeles on multiple accusations of sexual assault and rape. Eight women are to testify about the alleged crimes. A prosecutor alleged that a series of such incidents took place in several hotel rooms in the city where a group of women were raped and sexually assaulted and left terrified by the power Weinstein enjoys within Hollywood.
Allegations of the First Lady of California
The opening statements of the trial started on Monday, and the prosecutors said that eight women are set to testify about the alleged rapes and sexual assaults by Weinstein. One of them is Jennifer Siebel, actor and documentary filmmaker, the wife of Gavin Newsom, the governor of California. Siebel alleged that Weinstein raped her in 2005 after calling her to attend a business meeting when she was an aspiring young actor. Jennifer Siebel Winsom alleged that she was a #MeToo victim.
Defence Attorney’s Argument
Mark Werksman, the defence attorney to Weinstein, said that the accusers might have been cooking up stories on assaults or engaged physically with him as a part of some transactions as he was a powerful film producer then. Werksman argued that there is no eyewitness to the assaults.
Charges Against Weinstein
Harvey Weinstein, 70, was convicted in February 2020 of sexual crimes in New York and is now serving twenty-three-year imprisonment. Almost a hundred women have alleged publicly since 2017 that they were victims of sexual violence and unlawful sexual behaviour by Weinstein, and the cases date back to the 1970s.
Weinstein’ Claim
Weinstein claimed that the new charges against him were baseless and that all the sexual encounters were consensual.
As the trial continues, the details of interactions between Weinstein and the accusers will come in. The identities of the accusing women are secret, and Siebel Winsom will also testify about Weinstein’s alleged crimes.
