Harvey Weinstein trial: Prosecutor calls him ‘rapist’ with ‘complete lack of empathy’ in blistering opening statement

Proceedings could last for more than a month in New York City

Harvey Weinstein’s criminal trial began in earnest on Wednesday in New York City, as the prosecution delivered a blistering opening statement describing the former movie mogul as a “sexual predator” who allegedly took advantage of his reputation to manipulate and abuse women.

“He was not just a titan in Hollywood. He was a rapist,” assistant district attorney Meghan Hast told the jury of seven men and five women selected to rule on Weinstein’s fate. Three alternate jurors, selected at the same time as the 12 main ones, were present and told by the judge to pay equal attention to the proceedings, should one of them be required to step in.

Weinstein is accused of raping a woman in 2013 and performing a forcible sex act on another woman in 2006. He has pleaded not guilty and has denied all allegations of non-consensual sex. The producer has also denied retaliating against women. If convicted on the most serious charges against him, he could spend the rest of his life behind bars.

Earlier in the morning, Weinstein, 67, didn’t say much as he arrived in court, this time leaving behind the walking frame he has used to get around on previous occasions. Asked whether he believed he can have a fair trial, he responded affirmatively: “I have good lawyers.”

Judge James Burke delivered instructions to the jurors, telling them not to discuss the case among themselves or with other people, and reminding them of the meaning of the presumption of innocence. Hast then began her opening statement against Weinstein.

Pointing to the former movie mogul on at least one occasion, she painted him as a manipulative abuser who allegedly put his victims through successive “tests”, pushing their boundaries in the lead-up to the alleged assaults.

She went on to describe him allegedly screaming at one victim that she “owed” him sex, injecting medication to induce an erection before an assault, and pushing his way into the apartment of another woman and assaulting her.

The prosecution said they expected backup testimony from four other accusers, including actor Annabella Sciorra, and said they would portray Weinstein as a powerful man who allegedly used his influence to lure the accusers into encounters, after offering to help them with their careers.

Hast described an alleged pattern on Weinstein’s part of getting the women alone, undressing and forcing himself on them.

“It is for his complete lack of empathy that he must be held accountable,” Hast said of Weinstein. She said the women expected to testify will “each describe their fear, their shame and their humiliation – the struggle each went through to push their trauma down and show a brave face to the world”.

Hast detailed allegations that Weinstein sexually assaulted Sciorra around 1993 after giving The Sopranos star a ride home to her Manhattan apartment and forcing his way inside. “She told him to get out. She told him no. But Harvey Weinstein was undeterred,” Hast said. She said the actor eventually stopped fighting Weinstein, “hoping it would end”, and was left “emotionally and physically destroyed, passed out on the floor”.

A large flat screen at the back of the courtroom showed images supporting Hast’s statement as she delivered it. When she made mention of Weinstein “rubbing elbows with the Clintons”, a picture of Weinstein with former US president Bill Clinton flashed up on the screen.

Weinstein’s lawyer Damon Cheronis later countered by laying out plans to use friendly-sounding emails, calendar entries and other evidence to call the accusers’ accounts of being attacked into question.

Cheronis said the 2013 rape accuser sent Weinstein a request that year asking for “time privately” with him, and another message letting him know: “I got a new number. I just wanted you to have it. Always good to hear your voice.” Cherinos said: “These aren’t our words. They’re hers. It is not a relationship based on fear, you are going to see that.”

Weinstein’s trial could last for more than a month. The defence team previously tried to get the proceedings moved out of New York City, arguing that it would be impossible for Weinstein to get a fair trial in this venue. Those requests were denied.

Additional reporting by agencies