New York prosecutors have begun their opening statements in the retrial of Harvey Weinstein, accusing the disgraced film producer of using his power in Hollywood to sexually abuse and harass three women.
“The defendant wanted their bodies, and the more they resisted, the more forceful he got,” Assistant District Attorney Shannon Lucey told jurors on Wednesday.
In his third trial in five years, Weinstein is accused of sexually abusing a former television production assistant, an aspiring actress and a model.
During the first week of the trial, 12 jurors – seven women and five men – were chosen to weigh Weinstein’s fate. The former film mogul has pleaded not guilty.
Weinstein’s attorney Arthur Aidala told the jury the prosecution case would “fall flat on its face” after they heard all the evidence.
“They’re going to ask you to make sense of things that just don’t make sense,” he said.
A court of appeals overturned Weinstein’s previous conviction for sex crimes in New York last April, before he was indicted on new sexual assault charges in the state in September.
In last April’s ruling, the court of appeals said Weinstein, now 73, did not receive a fair trial because the judge overseeing his case allowed testimony from women who made allegations against him for conduct he was never charged over.
Weinstein had been serving a 23-year sentence in a New York prison after being convicted in 2020.
Weinstein was also found guilty of rape in a separate trial in California in 2022 and was sentenced to 16 years in that case.
The retrial in New York is likely to again include testimony from two women who brought allegations against Weinstein for his 2020 trial. Actress Jessica Mann and the TV production assistant, Miriam Haley, both testified at the time.
This time, the trial will also involve an unnamed woman who alleges Weinstein forcibly performed oral sex on her in a Manhattan hotel in 2006.
Weinstein has several medical conditions, including cancer and diabetes. In September, he was taken to hospital for heart surgery and has been held in a secure hospital unit.
A judge has approved a request from Weinstein’s lawyers to let him stay at the Bellevue hospital in Manhattan when he is not in court.
His lawyers had complained that he was receiving poor medical treatment in unhygienic conditions at the infamous Rikers Island prison facility – which officials have long said they plan to close – though the move has been delayed.
In total, Weinstein has been accused of sexual misconduct, assault and rape by over 100 women.
He is likely to spend the rest of his life in prison, as he has yet to begin serving his 16-year California sentence.
The decision by his accusers to come forward, and his subsequent conviction in New York, galvanised the #MeToo movement against sex abuse by powerful men.
Before the allegations against him emerged, Weinstein and his brother Bob were among Hollywood’s ultimate power players.
Weinstein co-founded Miramax film studio, whose hits included Shakespeare in Love, which won best picture at the Academy Awards, and Pulp Fiction.
His films have received more than 300 Oscar nominations and 81 wins.
The former film mogul has also faced a number of civil lawsuits, including from a group of women who accused him of sexual harassment and rape and reached a $19m (£14.2) settlement with him in 2020.
