February 26th, 2020 | Written By - Sophia Casa '23
The day is Tuesday, February 4th. A woman is at the witness stand: “I do want the jury to know that he is my rapist,” she defiantly declares. The rapist in question is disgraced movie producer Harvey Weinstein. The woman giving that statement is Jessica Mann, one of six women testifying against the mogul in the trial of Harvey Weinstein.
The New York trial began on January 6th 2020, where Weinstein faced a total of five charges, mainly stemming from two incidents in 2006 and 2013. The first involved Mimi Haleyi, former production assistant for the Weinstein Company produced show, Project Runway, and the latter dealt with actress Jessica Mann. On January 17th, a jury was selected. Following that, testimonies on both sides of the court room began.
Six women took the stand to tell their stories for the prosecuting side. They are actress Annabella Scoirra, costume designer Dawn Dunning, and models Tarale Wulff and Lauren Marie Young, as well as the aforementioned Mann and Haleyi. While only the charges issued by Mann and Haleyi are involved in the case, the other four women are looking to reinforce the idea that Weinstein’s bad behavior was not only repeated but done so over a wide period of time.
The defense looked to poke holes in the prosecutor's’ argument. Bringing witnesses Talita Maia, a Brazillian actress and former roommate of Mann’s, and Claudia Salinas,a Mexican model who was nearby when Young’s assault allegedly occurred. Both plainly said the separate incidents they were connected to did not occur. Similarly, Paul Feldsher, Hollywood agent and close friend of Sciorra in the 90s, said that Weinstein and Sciorra’s relationship was consensual. In terms of other evidence, defense lawyer Donna Rotunno presented friendly emails written by Haleyi and Mann to Weinstein, which had been sent in the time after each woman’s assault. Rotunno looked to prove that the women were lying, saying that logically, no woman would keep in contact with the man who raped them.
The trial wrapped up with each side giving their closing arguments on February 13th and 14th. The defense went first, with Rotunno detailing how the six women were all opportunists and willingly interacted with Weinstein to further their careers. She accused the prosecuting side of fabricating details because their arguments lacked the evidence needed to support their accusations. The following day, Prosecuting Attorney Joan Illuzzi-Orbon made her final statement. She told the jury that Weinstein mainly treated women as if they were disposable. He forced women into situations that were embarrassing and made them feel stupid, therefore decreasing their likeliness of speaking out about those incidents in the future. Yet despite the apparent risks, over 80 women have come forward to accuse Weinstein and Illuzzi-Orbon wishes the jury to note that, “they didn’t come for a beauty contest, didn’t come for money, didn’t come for fame, they came to be heard.”
On February 24, 2020, the verdict arrived. Weinstein has been convicted of two of the five charges. He will face time in prison and his sentencing is March 11th. Weinstein’s next trial will begin soon in Los Angeles.
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