Former film producer Harvey Weinstein, already convicted in New York, returns to American justice on Monday for a retrial for rape and sexual assault in Los Angeles, during which he faces up to 140 years in prison.
At 70, the “Pulp Fiction” producer is already serving a 23-year prison sentence after his sentence in New York. This new process coincides almost daily with the fifth anniversary of the #MeToo movement, triggered by revelations about its behavior as a sexual predator.
In Los Angeles, Mr. Weinstein is accused of raping or sexually assaulting five women in hotels between 2004 and 2013.
The hearing, which is expected to last two months, begins Monday with the selection of the jurors. In July 2021, the former Hollywood tycoon pleaded not guilty during pre-trial hearings in the Los Angeles courthouse.
His March 2020 sentence in New York, followed by an immediate jail sentence and whose appeal was denied, was a major victory for the #MeToo movement.
In total, nearly 90 women including Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Rosanna Arquette have accused Harvey Weinstein of harassment, sexual assault or rape. But the statute of limitations has been exceeded in many of these cases, some dating back to 1977.
The former producer has always assured that his accusers were in agreement. The allegations are not “not proven, not credible and unfounded”his lawyer Mark Werksman told the press in July 2021.
During the trial in New York, the prosecution asked jurors to take the victims’ word, without presenting forensic evidence and without calling a witness on the stand.
In California, Harvey Weinstein is accused in particular of raping an Italian model in a Beverly Hills hotel in February 2013, then sexually assaulting Lauren Young, an up-and-coming actress, in the bathroom of another hotel.
The former producer is also accused in the UK of sexual assaults dating back to 1996.
Before his downfall, his influence on Hollywood was unprecedented. Over the years, Weinstein-produced films, such as Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds, have received more than 300 Oscar nominations and 81 statuettes.
