DAY IN COURT
What has Harvey Weinstein been convicted of? The six women accusers who testified against the movie mogul
HARVEY Weinstein was convicted of rape and sexual assault earlier this week thanks to the testimony in court of six women during his trial.
The disgraced movie mogul, 67, faced a total of five charges – two of rape, one of forcible oral sex and two of predatory sexual assault.
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Harvey Weinstein was found guilty on Monday and faces up to 29 years behind bars.
Two of the women were seen as the main witnesses in the case with a third, Annabella Sciorra, supporting a predatory sexual assault charge.
A further three women were allowed to testify as “prior bad acts” witnesses, as a way of showing Weinstein had a pattern of assault.
The six women represented only a small portion of the more than 100 women who had made public allegations about Weinstein.
Annabella Sciorra
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Sciorra gave a vivid description of how Weinstein is said to have raped her at some point during the winter of 1993-94.
The actress, 59, has appeared in the hit TV show The Sopranos as well as having roles in The Hand That Rocks the Cradle and Jungle Fever.
She said she had met Weinstein at a private party in Los Angeles.
Later, after having dinner with Weinstein and others, including Uma Thurman, Sciorra accepted a ride home with Weinstein.
He dropped her off at her apartment in Gramercy Park, Manhattan, and she got ready for bed, putting on a nightgown that was a family heirloom from Italy.
She then said she heard a knock at the door and it was Weinstein, who pushed the door open.
Weinstein is then said to have grabbed her and led her to the bedroom where he pushed her on to the bed.
Sciorra told the court: “I was punching, I was kicking him, I was trying to take him away from me. He took my hands and put my hands over my head.
“He raped me. I was trying to fight but I couldn’t because he had my hands locked.”
She said that after the incident she had become depressed, often cutting herself and turning to alcohol.
Her story was supported by her friend actress Rosie Perez, who testified that Sciorra had called her, saying she had been raped.
A few months later, Perez learned that it was Weinstein who had assaulted her friend.
Perez added she did not notify the police because Sciorra had sworn her to secrecy.
Miriam Haley
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Miriam Haley, 42, one of the main witnesses in the case, told how Weinstein had forcibly performed oral sex on her at his apartment in 2006.
The British production assistant told how Weinstein had pushed her into a bedroom and held her down on a bed.
She told the court: “Every time I tried to get off the bed, he would push me back and hold me down.
“At this point I realized what was happening. I’m being raped.”
Haley said she did not report the incident at the time because she had worked as a production assistant on Project Runway, a Weinstein-produced show, without a US work visa.
She initially met Weinstein in 2004 and was introduced to him by the British director Michael White, whom she was working with at the time.
A few months after the incident happened, Haley agreed to meet up with Weinstein in a New York hotel.
Haley said: “He was persistent and insistent, and he convinced me to meet him again.
She said she did not resist Weinstein’s attempts to have sex with her and she just “laid there”.
Haley said: “I felt numb. I felt numb. I felt like an idiot, and I felt numb.”
Second main witness
The witness, who has not been named, gave 12 hours of testimony that lasted three days.
During her testimony she revealed a complex relationship with the disgraced film producer that lasted throughout 2016.
She said the relationship was at times consensual but said Weinstein was emotionally manipulative who had a “Jekyll and Hyde” personality.
The witness said she first met Weinstein at a party in the Hollywood Hills in 2012 and the two became close as the witness started to see him as a mentor who could help her fulfil her dream of becoming an actress.
Often crying while she gave her testimony, she described how Weinstein coerced her into various physical interactions.
She said Weinstein raped her in a New York hotel after blocking her from leaving the room multiple times.
She also described other sexual interactions in detail.
Asked to describe Weinstein’s physical features the witness said he had severe scarring on his body, as if he had been burned.
She also said that he appeared to be intersex.
On three occasions when the pair were together, she said Weinstein made calls in front of her to Bill Clinton about Hillary Clinton’s campaign.
She said: “It was intimidating to me because you’re raising that much money … you’re that powerful of a person where you could just call them up on your phone.”
She claimed that knowing how much power Weinstein had discouraged her from contacting the police.
Weinstein’s main attorney Donna Rotunno claimed the witness of lying on multiple occasions and manipulating Weinstein by giving the impression she was sexually interested in him.
The witness, attempting to describe her relationship with Weinstein, told the jury: “I’m not ashamed and that’s why I’m still here.
“I know it’s complicated and difficult but it doesn’t change the fact that he raped me.”
Dawn Dunning
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Dawn Dunning, 40, acted as a “prior bad acts” witness during the trial.
She agreed to meet Weinstein in a Manhattan hotel in 2004 for what she thought was a business meeting after the pair had met while Dunning was working as a waitress in a nightclub.
Dunning said that he appeared at the door of his hotel room, dressed in a white robe and appeared to have nothing on underneath.
On the coffee table were three sets of documents.
She claimed Weinstein told her: “Here’s contracts for my next three films. I’ll sign them today if you have a threesome with me and my assistant.”
Thinking he was joking she laughed and turned to leave but Weinstein became angry and told her: “You’ll never be a part of this business. This is how the business works. This is how actresses got where they are.”
Tarale Wulff
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Model Tarale Wulff, 43, acted as the second “prior bad acts” witness.
The pair met when she was waitressing in 2005 and Weinstein was friends with the owner of the restaurant Cipriani.
She recalled that when she brought Weinstein his drink he told her: “You have a great look, you should come talk to my people,” she told the court.
Later the same night, Wulff was standing at the bar when Weinstein grabbed her arms and led her upstairs.
She said that once she was standing in front of him, he began to masturbate.
Wulff said: “I just froze for a second, then I just threw the towel and ran past him.”
Later an employee of Weinstein’s contacted her, asking her to read a script at the Weinstein Company’s offices.
When she arrived she was ushered to a car and taken to his apartment.
Upon her arrival she heard Weinstein’s voice coming from a room.
When she entered, he took her arms and put her on the bed.
She said “I can’t” when she realised what was happening but Weinstein replied: “Don’t worry I have a vasectomy.”
Wulff said she froze and felt numb.
She thought it would be easiest to endure the ordeal.
Lauren Young
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Lauren Young, 30, was the third “prior bad acts” witness and said Weinstein had groped her in a Los Angeles hotel bathroom in 2013.
Young had been invited to a hotel by an acquaintance and she had hoped of showing Weinstein the script she had been writing based on her life.
The movie mogul appeared in the lobby and after talking to them for a few minutes, led them up to his hotel room.
Once in his suite she followed Weinstein through a living room, down a corridor and into a bathroom.
Suddenly the acquaintance then closed the door on her and Weinstein.
Young told the court he then turned on the shower and started to undress.
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According to Young he then pushed her back against the sink, unzipped the white lace dress she was wearing and groped her breast while he masturbated.
She testified: “I said ‘no, no, no’, the whole time; that I had a boyfriend; that I wasn’t interested.
“He’s carrying on with the conversation, ‘This is what all the actresses do to make it.’”
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