|
 Weinstein, 67, has pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting two
women, Mimi Haleyi and Jessica Mann. Since 2017, more than 80
women, including many famous actresses, have accused Weinstein
of sexual misconduct, fueling the #MeToo movement.
Weinstein has denied any nonconsensual sex.
The trial is widely seen as a watershed moment for the #MeToo
movement, in which women have gone public with allegations
against powerful men in business and politics.
Prosecutors said in court papers that psychiatrist Barbara Ziv,
who teaches at Temple University, will seek to dispel "myths"
that sexual assault victims "promptly report the abuse, shun the
abuser and exhibit obvious signs of psychological harm."
Defense attorneys said on Wednesday during opening statements
that emails from the accusers to Weinstein would show they
maintained warm relations, which could undermine a case that
appears to rely primarily on the testimony of the accusers.
On Thursday, actress Annabella Sciorra testified that Weinstein
violently raped her in her home in the early 1990s and went on
to harass her for years.
Sciorra's allegation is too old to be charged as a separate
crime, but prosecutors hope it will show that Weinstein was a
repeat sexual predator, a charge that could put him in prison
for life.
Donna Rotunno, one of Weinstein's lawyers, grilled Sciorra on
Wednesday about whether she had reported the alleged rape to
authorities or sought medical help.
[to top of second column] |
Sciorra acknowledged that she had not.
“At the time, I didn’t understand that it was rape,” she said.
Sciorra told jurors that she became depressed after the encounter,
drinking heavily and even cutting herself. She cried on the stand as
she told of how she was unable to tell her family what had happened.
Ziv will testify about rape trauma generally and will not offer any
opinions directly related to Weinstein or his accusers, prosecutors
said.
Ziv testified as an expert for prosecutors in the rape trial of
comedian Bill Cosby, who was sentenced to three to 10 years in
prison in 2018.
At the end of Thursday's proceedings, prosecutors said they wanted
to call actress Rosie Perez to testify that Sciorra told her about
the alleged attack, a request the defense opposed. James Burke, the
judge presiding over the case, said he would rule on the issue "soon
enough."
(Reporting By Brendan Pierson in New York; Editing by Noeleen Walder
and Cynthia Osterman)
[© 2020 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2020 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
 |
