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 Weinstein has pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting former
production assistant Mimi Haleyi in 2006 and raping Jessica
Mann, a onetime aspiring actress, in 2013.
He faces life in prison if convicted on the most serious charge,
predatory sexual assault.
The jury is composed of seven men and five women and include a
businessman, banker, female security guard, a father of two
school-age children, entrepreneur, author and a financial
professional who lives with two roommates.
A unanimous verdict is needed for a conviction.
Since 2017, more than 80 women have accused Weinstein of sexual
misconduct. Weinstein, who was behind films including "The
English Patient" and "Shakespeare in Love," has denied the
allegations and said any sexual encounters were consensual.
The allegations fueled the #MeToo movement, in which women have
accused powerful men in business, entertainment, media and
politics of sexual misconduct.
Last week, jurors heard closing arguments from lawyers on both
sides. Weinstein's lawyer, Donna Rotunno, argued that the
encounters had been consensual, pointing to friendly
communications from the women to Weinstein after they were
allegedly assaulted. She assailed the credibility of the
accusers and urged the jury to put aside their emotions and use
common sense in evaluating the evidence.
"Historically, you are the last line of defense in this country
from the overzealous media, from the overzealous prosecution,"
Rotunno said.
Assistant District Attorney Joan Illuzzi urged jurors to convict
Weinstein, saying the once powerful producer used his position
in the film industry to prey on women and that those who
testified against him had no reason to lie.
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Illuzzi said Weinstein had counted on his victims never coming
forward.
"The defendant not only ran roughshod over the dignity and the very
lives of these witnesses, but he also underestimated them," she told
the jury.
Haleyi testified during the trial that Weinstein forced oral sex on
her in his home in 2006. Haleyi said Weinstein "lunged" at her,
backed her into a bedroom and forcibly performed oral sex on her,
yanking out her tampon.
Mann testified that Weinstein raped her in a Manhattan hotel room
early in what she called an "extremely degrading" relationship with
him.
Jurors heard from four other women, including actress Annabella
Sciorra, who testified that Weinstein came into her apartment one
winter night in 1993 or 1994 and raped her. The accusation is too
old to be charged as a separate crime, but it could act as an
aggravating factor to support the predatory sexual assault charge.
Prosecutors called the remaining three women to bolster their
evidence of Weinstein's intent, but did not charge him with any
crimes related to them. Weinstein is separately charged with
assaulting one of them, Lauren Young, by prosecutors in Los Angeles.
(Reporting By Brendan Pierson in New York; Editing by Noeleen Walder
and Daniel Wallis)
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