Harvey Weinstein’s defense calls first witnesses in rape trial

Harvey Weinstein’s defense called its first three witnesses Monday morning, nearly a month after the prosecution opened its case in the sexual assault and rape case brought by the disgraced producer in Los Angeles. Weinstein’s attorneys said they plan to call six witnesses in total, and they expect to conclude their case this week.

All three witnesses took the stand to testify about the details regarding the allegations of Jane Doe No. 1, who testified that Weinstein raped her and forced her to perform oral sex on her in February 2013.

In her three-day deposition, Jane Doe #1 collapsed on the stand when she claimed she was assaulted by Weinstein during a business trip in Los Angeles where she was a VIP guest at the Los Angeles Italia Film Festival. She claims that the alleged incident took place at her hotel, Mr. C Beverly Hills, when Weinstein suddenly appeared in the middle of the night and made his way to her room without warning. And witnessed “He just walked in.” “I didn’t understand what was going on… I remember thinking, ‘Did he follow me?'” ” I do not know him “. Jane Doe #1 told the jury that she told Weinstein to leave, but then froze, afraid he was going to kill her. “I panicked and started crying… He didn’t care,” she said on the stand. “I wanted to die. It was disgusting. It was humiliating.”

During cross-examination, Weinstein’s attorney, Alan Jackson, questioned why Jane Doe #1 was still staying in the same hotel room after she was allegedly raped. “You stayed in the same room where you said you were attacked and the victim?” Jackson asked.

On Monday, Mr. C’s former general manager who was working at the hotel at the time of the alleged attack was contacted by Weinstein’s defense. He reviewed hotel records and Jane Doe No. 1 newspaper, confirming that Jane Doe No. 1 stayed at the same hotel weeks after the alleged assault.

Jane Doe No. 1 reported her alleged assault to authorities four and a half years later in October 2017, and told a jury that she only came forward to report the incident when her teenage daughter — who was also a victim of sexual assault — was involved. Encourage her to go to the police. Earlier this month, her daughter, Maria, testified to corroborate the details of her mother’s story, saying she “only had the guts to speak out because my mom promised me” that she would also go to the police about her alleged assault.

On Monday, the defense called Beverly Hills Detective Stephanie Frias, who interviewed Jane Doe No. 1’s daughter in 2017 when she came to the police station to report her alleged assault at her high school. Weinstein’s attorney asked the investigator if Jane Doe No. 1 had said anything about being a victim of sexual assault while escorting her daughter to the police station.

“Did Jane Du No. 1 ever tell you or mention hurting her?” Jackson asked the detective, who replied, “According to my report, no.”

District Attorney Paul Thompson followed up by asking, “Jane Doe No. 1 was focusing on the situation with her daughter?” To which the investigator said: “Correct.”

The defense also called to testify a firefighter from the Los Angeles Fire Department who confirmed that a fire alarm went off at Mr. C’s hotel and the LAFD was dispatched during the early morning hours of February 18, 2013 around 12:45 a.m., which was around the time of The alleged rape of Jane Doe No. 1.

During cross-examination of Jane Doe No. 1 earlier in the trial, Weinstein’s attorney asked if she recalled hearing a loud fire in the hotel the night of the alleged rape. She seemed confused by the question and said she didn’t remember hearing the fire alarm that night. Weinstein’s attorney responded, “You don’t remember the fire alarm because you weren’t in your room, do you?”

During opening statements, Weinstein’s defense told the jury that Weinstein is not a serial predator and that the women all had consensual sex and “transactions” with the powerful product — or, as they suggested, some of the women lie about the alleged sexual assaults.

“If you look carefully at the building blocks of the prosecutors’ massive case … you’ll see a different picture emerge from what the attorney general described to you,” Weinstein’s attorney, Mark Werksman, said during op-eds last month. “You’ll see that these were all consensual relationships, or in some cases, they didn’t happen at all.”



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