Kane Dane
Harvey Weinstein arrived at a Manhattan courthouse on Monday for the opening of his physical-crimes trial as his lawyers and prosecutors planned to start selecting a jury in the first celebrity #MeToo case to begin in a criminal court.
Prosecutors in Los Angeles, California, have brought new physical abuse charges against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. The charges were announced on Monday, the same day that his trial for molestation and physical assault started in New York City.
In Los Angeles, the producer is charged with molesting one woman and physically assaulting another in 2013. Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey stated in a statement that proof would show that the producer used his power to “perform violent crimes” against his victims.
Weinstein appeared on Monday in a Manhattan courthouse with his lawyers and security personnel. In the Manhattan Courthouse, he faced charges of molesting a woman in a hotel room in 2013 and physically assaulting another woman in 2006.
More than 75 women have publicly said Weinstein molested or physically abused them in the past after sources published accusations of physical abuse against Weinstein.
The accusations against the producer would lead to the #MeToo movement. Numbers of women — many from Hollywood — made public allegations of physical wrongdoing against well-known, powerful men.
The 67-year-old producer states he is not guilty of the charges he faces in New York. He says that any physical activity was consensual. If he is determined guilty of the most critical charges against him – predatory physical assault — he stands a life sentence in jail.
Weinstein’s lawyer, Donna Rotunno, says she will ask hard questions of the women who have made allegations against the producer.
On Tuesday, prosecutors and defense lawyers will start trying to seat a reasonable jury. It could take many weeks because of the volume of publicity the case has got.
