The former film producer Harvey Weinstein is on trial in Los Angeles on 11 additional charges of abuse. Weinstein is currently incarcerated.
The 70-year-old was found guilty of multiple sexual assaults, including rape, in New York and is currently serving a sentence of 23 years in prison.
The new accusations include claims of rape and assault that are said to have occurred in hotels in Los Angeles between 2004 and 2013. He rejects the accusations.
The jury selection process, which started on Monday, is anticipated to take two weeks. Throughout the trial, five alleged victims are anticipated to testify.
The Pulp Fiction and Shakespeare in Love producer, who has won an Oscar for his work, maintains that all of his sex was consensual. According to his lawyer, the most recent West Coast allegations “stem from many years ago” and cannot “be substantiated or corroborated by any forensic evidence” or “credible witnesses.”
For the #MeToo movement, which had been denouncing pervasive sexual abuse and harassment in the film industry for several years, his conviction in New York in 2020 was a watershed event.
Prosecutors in Los Angeles initially filed charges against him in early 2020, but they decided to postpone the trial until the New York case was resolved.
A number of celebrities, including Salma Hayek, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Angelina Jolie, have accused Weinstein of harassment or assault.
One of Weinstein’s defense lawyers, Mark Werksman, claimed in a statement cited by the Los Angeles Times that some of the women expected to testify would be well-known to the general public.
According to the Times, witnesses at the trial will either be identified as Jane Doe or by their first name and initials.
She Said, a film about the Weinstein newspaper investigation from 2017, will have its world premiere this week at the New York Film Festival.
Harvey Weinstein was also going to face two counts of indecent assault against a woman in London in the summer of 1996, it was revealed in June.
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