Sitting “sexual predator” Harvey Weinstein has a new trial

A new trial of infamous Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein will begin in Los Angeles five years after high-profile reports of his sexual harassment. The disgraced filmmaker, who is ready to spend a life sentence in prison, faces 11 additional charges of sexual assault.

Five years after the high-profile reports that ended his career, disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein will stand trial in Los Angeles on Monday in a series of alleged sexual assaults involving five different women.

According to The Guardian, this is the second trial of the former Hollywood titan, who has been imprisoned since February 2020, when he was found guilty of sexual harassment and rape in a trial in New York.

Authorities extradited Weinstein to California last year to face 11 additional charges of sexual harassment for alleged assaults that took place between 2004 and 2013, including forced rape, forced oral copulation, sexual battery by restraint, and sexual penetration with force.

Weinstein’s trial in Los Angeles comes half a decade after the first reports of extensive allegations against him sparked a movement encouraging women around the world to speak up about the abuse they’ve experienced at the hands of powerful men. The #MeToo movement emerged in 2017 after the New York Times and The New Yorker exposed Weinstein’s extensive history of sexual harassment with actresses such as Ashley Judd and how his powerful status in Hollywood allowed him to abuse women without repercussions on for decades.

Rumors about the behavior of the movie mogul, whose company was behind films like Pulp Fiction and Shakespeare in Love, have circulated before, but leaked stories shed light on how Weinstein’s team of lawyers, private detectives and paid consultants helped silence accusers, from actresses to production assistants.

Within weeks of the first revelations, almost 90 women accused Weinstein of inappropriate behavior and sexual assault in incidents that date back to the 1970s.

Weinstein’s trial in New York in 2020 for raping two women was a landmark moment in the #MeToo movement, with others testifying about their experiences, including actress Annabella Sciorra, who said the producer raped her in the early 1990s. years.

A jury convicted Weinstein of third-degree rape and first-degree criminal sexual intercourse for forcing Miriam Haley, a former assistant producer on Project Runway, to perform oral sex. The court sentenced him to 23 years in prison.

Yet Weinstein, now 70, has long maintained his innocence. He recently tried to have a New York conviction overturned, but a five-judge panel upheld the decision. However, the state’s highest court agreed to allow Weinstein to appeal the verdict.

The Weinstein trial in Los Angeles comes at a critical time for the #MeToo movement. The case is one of several that have played out in America this month, including the trials of actors Kevin Spacey and Danny Masterson and director Paul Haggis.

The trial also follows a high-profile trial this year when a jury ordered actress Amber Heard to pay her ex-husband Johnny Depp $10 million in defamation charges after she wrote about her experience speaking out against violence against women.

According to lawyer Jamie White, years after the Weinstein revelations, some people argued that the movement had gone too far. Weinstein should not capitalize on this idea, he continued, adding that significant progress has been made in the years since the movement began.

“We see laws changing across the country. Incredible progress has already been made. We still have a lot to do,” White said. “We have to make sure that this policy changes and that we don’t go back to our old habits.”

Weinstein denied the accusations against him. “All of the charges against Mr. Weinstein are either fabricated or are the result of consensual sexual relations, which his accusers are now falsely characterizing as sexual assault,” Weinstein’s attorney, Mark Werksman, said in a statement.

The lawyer added that Weinstein is unwell, cannot walk and has several bad teeth because he cannot receive proper dental treatment at the Los Angeles County Jail.

Jury selection for the Weinstein trial in Los Angeles begins Monday. If found guilty on these charges, he faces up to 140 years in prison.