Harvey Weinstein is currently serving a 23-year jail sentence for previous sex crime convictions (Picture: Getty/Backgrid)
A Los Angeles prosecutor has delivered an opening speech detailing the alleged rapes by disgraced filmmaker Harvey Weinstein.
The prosecutor told jurors on Monday that they will hear the accounts of multiple accusers, containing graphic and violent details of their alleged sexual assaults by Weinstein, 70.
Weinstein is currently serving a 23-year prison sentence after being convicted of sex crimes in New York, becoming the face of the #MeToo movement five years ago.
He is now facing his second criminal trial for 11 charges of rape and sexual assault, to which he has pleaded not guilty.
One of the accusers was referred to by Deputy District Attorney Paul Thompson as the wife of California governor Gavin Newsom.
The other women were not directly named, but the attorney for Jennifer Siebel Newsom, a California documentary maker, previously shared that she would be amongst those to testify during the trial.
A prosecutor gave an opening speech, detailing the alleged rapes of several women (Picture: AP)
Mr Thompson stated that Siebel Newsom will testify that she was raped by Weinstein in 2005 when trying to build a career as an actor.
Recalling the alleged rape, Mr Thompson said Weinstein made Siebel Newsom feel ‘nervous’ and she was ‘uncertain of how to navigate this situation with one of the most powerful people in Hollywood.’
He said that the pair spoke, then he went to the bathroom before summoning her to him.
‘She was shocked, and her mind raced,’ Thompson said, recalling the moment she found him in his bathrobe.
Weinstein then asked her to touch him, to which she refused.
A court sketch shows Weinstein sitting in a wheelchair (Picture: Mona Shafer Edwards/Backgrid)
He then reportedly moved towards her and referred to ‘a list of A-list actresses whose careers he supposedly made,’ with his voice shifting ‘from pleading to aggressive and demanding.’
The prosecutor added that Siebel Newsom was ‘crying and shaking’ when Weinstein is said to have forced her to the bed: ‘She couldn’t get any words out because of her fear.’
Weinstein is said to have urged Siebel Newson to ‘relax’ before raping her.
Speaking in court on October 24, Mr Thompson also shared quotes from some of the women who say Weinstein invited them to his hotel rooms for sex between 1991 and 2015.
One was quoted as saying: ‘He was trying to keep his penis in my mouth.’
He quoted another as saying Weinstein undressed her and fondled her breast while masturbating.
The disgraces filmmaker could face up to 140 years in prison if convicted in LA (Picture: Jefferson Siegel-Pool/Getty Images)
Weinstein, who was sitting in the courtroom at the time, is said to have been shaking his head while the details were shared.
Responding to why none of the women spoke about their alleged rapes at the time, Thompson said it was out of the fear that Weinstein ‘could crush their careers.’
He quoted one of the women as saying: ‘At this time, this was the most powerful person in the industry,’ while holding up posters for Pulp Fiction (1994) and Shakespeare in Love (1998).
‘He was king,’ another accuser said of Weinstein’s status in the industry at the time.
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Thompson went on to say that all of the women did tell either friends or family about their experiences previously, despite not speaking out publicly.
If Weinstein is convicted of all the charges against him in Los Angeles, he could face up to 140 years in prison.
As for his New York sentence, he is currently appealing his conviction and 23-year sentence.
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Weinstein faces up to 140 years behind bars.
