Prosecutors say Harvey Weinstein preyed on a fragile aspiring actress, while his defence claims their relationship was consensual.
NEW YORK: Prosecutors opened the rape retrial of disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein by describing how he wielded power to prey on an aspiring actress.
Assistant District Attorney Candace White told the jury the case centres on “power, to control and manipulation”. She alleged Weinstein used his Hollywood influence to take advantage of Jessica Mann in 2013.
Weinstein, a central figure in the MeToo movement, appeared in court wheelchair-bound due to ill health. He is being retried on one count of third-degree rape against Mann, which allegedly occurred in a Manhattan hotel room.
The 74-year-old is already imprisoned for other sex offences and will remain behind bars regardless of the retrial verdict. A mistrial was declared on this charge last June after a jury feud.
White described Mann, then 27 and “barely scraping by”, as the “perfect target” due to a background of abuse. “The defendant preyed upon a fragile and sheltered young woman,” the prosecutor said.
Weinstein’s defence attorney Jacob Kaplan countered that the case is “about consent, about choice and about regret”. He argued the pair had a consensual sexual relationship for years.
Kaplan pointed to “loving and supportive” messages they exchanged by email. “This case will be her word against her own word,” he told the court.
The prosecution plans to call a forensic psychologist to explain victims’ sometimes “counterintuitive behaviour”. The trial is set to examine power dynamics in the movie industry.
Weinstein is serving a 16-year prison term in California for raping a European actress. He is appealing that conviction and another from his New York trial last June.
Before the mistrial, that jury convicted Weinstein of sexually assaulting movie producer Miriam Haley. He was acquitted of the same alleged crime against actress Kaja Sokola.
Weinstein has claimed he is under threat at Rikers Island jail, leaving him mostly in solitary confinement. “I’m constantly threatened and derided,” he told the Hollywood Reporter.
In 2017, investigations by the New Yorker and New York Times triggered allegations from more than 80 complainants. This prompted the global MeToo movement against sexual abuse and harassment.
