Harvey Weinstein’s sixth and final accuser testifies about his unwanted sexual advance – CNN
Young is one of three women testifying as a so-called “prior bad acts” witness, which means her testimony is not connected to any of the five charges against Weinstein. However, prosecutors say her testimony will show that Weinstein had a pattern of abuse in which he used his power as a movie producer to lure young women into unwanted sexual encounters.
In opening statements, Assistant District Attorney Meghan Hast said that Young would tell the jury about how Weinstein cornered her in a hotel suite bathroom in 2013 in a meeting she believed to be about a script. Weinstein then took off his clothes and began masturbating with one hand as he used the other to pull down Young’s dress, Hast said. He ejaculated on the floor, she said.
Young was “scared and disgusted,” and then fled the bathroom, according to Hast, and she later told two friends about the incident.
Young took the stand Wednesday and testified that she went to an Oscars dinner hosted by Weinstein in February 2012. She didn’t talk to Weinstein that night but met a friend of his, Claudia Salinas, and got her contact information.
A year later, Salinas reached out to Young to arrange a meeting with Weinstein to discuss a script Young wrote. The three met on February 19, 2013 at the Montage Beverly Hills, a date Young recalled based on emails she kept.
Young said she first met Salinas at the lobby bar and ordered a gin and tonic. Weinstein came about ten minutes later and was distracted on his phone, Young testified. Young said that Weinstein suggested she go out for America’s Next Top Model, but that she said she wasn’t interested in reality TV.
She then followed him to a hotel room upstairs because he said he had to get ready for an awards event involving Quentin Tarantino. Young testified that Weinstein led them and she walked between him and Salinas into the room.
Court adjourned as Young described the layout of the hotel room and how they walked into the hotel room bathroom, Salinas walking behind her. She is expected to continue her testimony this afternoon.
In general, “prior bad acts” witnesses aim to strengthen the prosecution’s case, particularly in a “he said-she said” sexual assault trial without forensic evidence. In Bill Cosby’s sexual assault trial, for example, five women testified as “prior bad acts” witnesses.
Previously in the trial, Tarale Wulff testified that he raped her when she was an aspiring actress in 2005. In addition, Dawn Dunning testified that he groped her in 2004 and, in another incident, tried to pressure her into three-way sex by telling her “this is how this industry works,” according to her testimony.
Weinstein faces charges of first-degree rape, third-degree rape and predatory sexual assault for allegedly attacking Jessica Mann. He also faces charges of first-degree criminal sexual act and predatory sexual assault related to incidents with Miriam Haley.
Actress Annabella Sciorra’s testimony that he raped her in the winter of 1993-94 is relevant to the predatory sexual assault charges. To convict him on those charges, prosecutors must prove Weinstein committed sex crimes against multiple victims, and Sciorra’s testimony is part of that count.
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