Weinstein accuser recounts alleged rape at assault retrial in NY

One of Harvey Weinstein's accusers on Wednesday again told a New York court that he had raped her, five years after she testified in the first sexual assault trial of the disgraced Hollywood producer.

Miriam Haley, 48, is one of dozens of women who have accused Weinstein of harassment, sexual assault or rape -- a list that includes Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow and Ashley Judd. Their accounts helped galvanize the #MeToo movement.

Weinstein's 2020 convictions on charges relating to Haley and aspiring actress Jessica Mann were overturned last year by the New York Court of Appeals, which ruled that the way witnesses were handled in the original trial was unlawful.

Back in a Manhattan courtroom, Haley again tearfully recalled the day in July 2006 when she says she accepted an invitation to visit Weinstein's Soho apartment. At the time, she was a showbiz production assistant looking for work.

She had previously met Weinstein and refused his sexual advances, but had just wrapped up a contract on a TV show made by his production company, and needed a new job.

Haley, who was born in Finland and has also used the name Mimi Haleyi, told the court that Weinstein suddenly "lunged at me, tried to kiss me."

She said she got up from the sofa, but Weinstein did as well, and he eventually forced her into his bedroom and held her down with "a lot of force."

"I couldn't get away from him," she told the jury, explaining that despite her pleas for him to stop, Weinstein then forcibly performed oral sex on her and she realized she was being "raped."

"I just decided to check out and endure it," she told the court, adding that she did not initially file a criminal complaint because her visa did not officially allow her to work and she feared being expelled from the country.

Across the courtroom, the 73-year-old Weinstein occasionally shook his head during her testimony. Otherwise, he listened attentively from his wheelchair, his head resting on one of his hands.

- 'I felt so stupid' -

AFP

Witness Miriam Haley detailed in court what she alleges was a rape by Harvey Weinstein in 2006

The former Miramax studio boss is charged in the New York retrial with the 2006 sexual assault of Haley and the 2013 rape of Mann. He also faces a new count for an alleged sexual assault of a 19-year-old in 2006.

Accusers describe the impresario as a predator who used his perch atop the cinema industry to pressure actresses and assistants for sexual favors, often in hotel rooms.

Weinstein -- the producer of a string of box office hits such as "Pulp Fiction" and "Shakespeare in Love" -- has never acknowledged any wrongdoing and has always maintained that the encounters were consensual.

He is serving a 16-year prison sentence after being convicted in California of raping and assaulting a European actress more than a decade ago.

His defense team plans to emphasize that Haley remained in touch with Weinstein after the alleged assault.

Haley admitted she had seen Weinstein again in late July 2006 and had consensual sex with him at that time.

"I felt so stupid," she said. "I was desperate for work."

She also exchanged multiple emails with him, she told the court, until at least 2009.

She only broke her silence in 2017, shortly after The New York Times and The New Yorker published their first investigative pieces about Weinstein's alleged misdeeds.