Biodun Iginla, BBC News

Biodun Iginla, BBC News
Showing posts with label rape. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rape. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 28, 2020

ANALYSIS: Ruff justice: Weinstein laughs off Chihuahua claim


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by Susan Riddell and Biodun Iginla, France24 News Analysts
Harvey Weinstein's rape and sexual assault trial considered an unexpected question on Tuesday: was the heavyset former Hollywood titan scared of a Chihuahua called Peanut?
During a light moment in proceedings dominated by uncomfortable testimony, the roommate of one of Weinstein's accusers recalled how her pet pooch had chased him around their apartment.
Elizabeth Entin told the New York court that Mimi Haleyi, who accuses Weinstein of forcibly performing oral sex on her in 2006, called her and said "something weird had happened."
"She said Harvey Weinstein showed up at our apartment and pushed his way in. I was a little startled and asked what happened?" said Entin.
"Apparently my Chihuahua Peanut was chasing him and he was a little scared. He was like, 'What is this thing? Get it away from me,'" she added.
As the "Pulp Fiction" producer shuffled out of the New York courtroom using a walking aid, a waiting reporter shouted out, "Mr Weinstein, are you afraid of Chihuahuas?"
A grinning Weinstein laughed and replied, "Do I look like I'm afraid of Chihuahuas?"
More than 80 women have accused the ex-Miramax Films boss of sexual assault since allegations against him first ignited the #MeToo movement in October 2017.
But he faces charges related to just two women: Haleyi, and actress Jessica Mann, who says Weinstein raped her in 2013.
Weinstein, 67, faces life in prison if convicted of the most serious charges against him, those of predatory sexual assault.
On Monday, Haleyi testified that Weinstein sexually assaulted her in a children's bedroom in his New York apartment while she was on her period.
On Friday, "The Sopranos" actress Annabella Sciorra testified that Weinstein raped her in the early 90s, although her allegations are not part of the charge sheet.
Mann has yet to take the stand.
Weinstein says all his sexual relationships were consensual.
His defense attorneys have provided dozens of emails which they say show Haleyi and Mann in a friendly relationship with Weinstein long after the alleged incidents.

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ANALYSIS: 'It sounded like rape': Weinstein accuser's ex-roommate backs up sexual assault allegation


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Witness Elizabeth Entin is questioned by Assistant District Attorney Meghan Hast as film producer Harvey Weinstein sits with his lawyers Damon Cheronis and Donna Rotunno in front of Judge James Burke during Weinstein's sexual assault trial at New York Criminal Court in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S. January 28, 2020 in this courtroom sketch.
Witness Elizabeth Entin is questioned by Assistant District Attorney Meghan Hast as film producer Harvey Weinstein sits with his lawyers Damon Cheronis and Donna Rotunno in front of Judge James Burke during Weinstein's sexual assault trial at New York Criminal Court in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S. January 28, 2020 in this courtroom sketch. © REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg
by Susan Riddell and Biodun Iginla, France24 News Analysts, New York
The former roommate of Mimi Haleyi, one of the women who has accused Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault, took the stand on Tuesday in the former Hollywood mogul's rape trial.
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Elizabeth Entin told jurors that Haleyi, visibly upset, told her in the summer of 2006 that Weinstein forced oral sex on her.
"I said, 'Miriam, that sounds like rape,'" Entin testified, using Haleyi's full first name.
Weinstein, 67, has pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting Haleyi and Jessica Mann. Since 2017, more than 80 women, including many famous actresses, have accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct.
The accusations fueled the #MeToo movement, in which women have accused powerful men in business, entertainment, media and politics of sexual misconduct. Weinstein's trial is widely seen as a key moment for the movement.
Weinstein, who reshaped the independent film industry with critically acclaimed pictures such as “The English Patient” and “Shakespeare in Love,” has denied the allegations and said any sexual encounters were consensual.
Haleyi, who worked as a production assistant on a Weinstein television show, told jurors on Monday that Weinstein invited her to his Manhattan home in July 2006 and attacked her, backing her into a bedroom and forcing oral sex on her.
Entin said on Tuesday that she and Haleyi shared an apartment in 2006.
She said that one evening Haleyi appeared unusually nervous, and told her Weinstein had assaulted her in his home.
"She said 'I’m on my period' and he said 'I don’t care,' at which point he threw her down, pulled down her underwear, pulled out her tampon and went down on her while she was saying 'no,'" Entin said.
Entin testified that she told Haleyi her experience sounded like rape and urged her to speak to a lawyer, but that Haleyi did not want to.
Entin said that weeks before the alleged attack, Haleyi called her at work to tell her that Weinstein had barged into their apartment and begged her to come to Paris with him.
Entin said Haleyi told her that Entin's chihuahua, Peanut, was "kind of chasing him around" and that Weinstein seemed afraid of the dog.
At the time, Entin said, she saw Weinstein not as a threat but as "a pathetic older man trying to hit on Miriam."
On cross-examination, Donna Rotunno, one of Weinstein's lawyers, asked Entin whether she knew Weinstein had paid for Haleyi to travel to Los Angeles and London after the alleged assault, and that she had continued to communicate with him. Entin said she did not.
After Entin left the stand, prosecutors showed jurors several old photos of Weinstein, including one of him and former U.S. President Bill Clinton. They previously had said they wanted to introduce the photo to demonstrate Weinstein's power and connections.
Haleyi was the second accuser to testify against Weinstein at the trial. Actress Annabella Sciorra, known for her role on HBO's "The Sopranos," testified last week that Weinstein forced his way into her Manhattan apartment one winter night in 1993 or 1994 and violently raped her.
While Sciorra's allegation is too old to support a separate rape charge against Weinstein, prosecutors hope it will show he is a repeat sexual predator - a charge that could put him in prison for life.
Jessica Mann, a former aspiring actress, is expected to testify that Weinstein raped her in 2013.



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